The Living World – Daily Practice Problem (DPP)

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🎯 NEET 2026 Daily Practice Problem (DPP)

Topic: The Living World | 20 High-Yield MCQs

Q1. Which of the following is a defining property of living organisms?

  1. Growth
  2. Reproduction
  3. Metabolism
  4. Ability to make sound
✅ View Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: (3) Metabolism
Explanation: Growth and reproduction have exceptions (e.g., mules are sterile, mountains grow by accumulation). Metabolism and Consciousness are defining features without exception.

Q2. ICBN stands for:

  1. International Code of Botanical Nomenclature
  2. International Congress of Biological Names
  3. Indian Code of Botanical Nomenclature
  4. Indian Congress of Biological Names
✅ View Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: (1) International Code of Botanical Nomenclature
Explanation: ICBN provides principles and rules for naming plants. For animals, it is ICZN.

Q3. The biological name of Mango is written as:

  1. Mangifera Indica
  2. mangifera indica
  3. Mangifera indica
  4. Mangifera Indica Linn.
✅ View Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: (3) Mangifera indica
Explanation: Genus starts with a capital letter, species with a small letter. Both should be italicized when printed.

Q4. The basic unit of classification is:

  1. Kingdom
  2. Family
  3. Species
  4. Genus
✅ View Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: (3) Species
Explanation: Species is the lowest and basic unit of classification in the taxonomic hierarchy.

Q5. Which of the following is not a ‘Taxonomical Aid’?

  1. Herbarium
  2. Botanical Garden
  3. Soil Sample
  4. Museum
✅ View Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: (3) Soil Sample
Explanation: Taxonomical aids (Key, Herbarium, Museum, Flora, Manuals) help in identification and classification. Soil is an abiotic factor.

Q6. ‘Systema Naturae’ was written by:

  1. Ernst Mayr
  2. Carolus Linnaeus
  3. Aristotle
  4. R.H. Whittaker
✅ View Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: (2) Carolus Linnaeus
Explanation: Linnaeus introduced Binomial Nomenclature and wrote Systema Naturae.

Q7. Which taxonomic category contains organisms with the least number of similar characters?

  1. Species
  2. Genus
  3. Family
  4. Kingdom
✅ View Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: (4) Kingdom
Explanation: As we go higher in hierarchy (Species → Kingdom), the number of common characteristics decreases.

Q8. A ‘Key’ is a taxonomical aid used for identification of plants and animals based on:

  1. Similarities only
  2. Dissimilarities only
  3. Contrasting characters (Couplet)
  4. Evolutionary history
✅ View Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: (3) Contrasting characters (Couplet)
Explanation: Keys are based on contrasting characters generally in a pair called a couplet.

Q9. In Solanum tuberosum, ‘tuberosum’ represents:

  1. Genus
  2. Family
  3. Specific Epithet
  4. Author citation
✅ View Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: (3) Specific Epithet
Explanation: The second word in a biological name denotes the specific epithet (species).

Q10. Growth in non-living objects like mountains and sand dunes occurs by:

  1. Accumulation of material on the surface (Accretion)
  2. Cell division
  3. Internal growth
  4. Differentiation
✅ View Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: (1) Accumulation of material on the surface
Explanation: Non-living objects grow by extrinsic accumulation, whereas living organisms show intrinsic growth.

Q11. The term ‘Taxonomy’ was coined by:

  1. Linnaeus
  2. De Candolle
  3. Lamarck
  4. Aristotle
✅ View Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: (2) De Candolle
Explanation: A.P. de Candolle coined the term Taxonomy in 1813.

Q12. Families are characterized on the basis of:

  1. Vegetative characters only
  2. Reproductive characters only
  3. Both vegetative and reproductive characters
  4. Physiological characters
✅ View Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: (3) Both vegetative and reproductive characters
Explanation: Plant families are classified based on vegetative (root, stem, leaf) and floral (flower structure) characters.

Q13. Order Polymoniales includes which families?

  1. Convolvulaceae and Solanaceae
  2. Solanaceae and Liliaceae
  3. Fabaceae and Solanaceae
  4. Malvaceae and Brassicaceae
✅ View Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: (1) Convolvulaceae and Solanaceae
Explanation: Order Polymoniales is based mainly on floral characters and includes Solanaceae and Convolvulaceae.

Q14. Which taxonomical aid contains information on any one taxon?

  1. Flora
  2. Manual
  3. Monograph
  4. Catalogue
✅ View Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: (3) Monograph
Explanation: A Monograph contains comprehensive information about a single taxon (like a specific genus or family).

Q15. The ‘Darwin of the 20th Century’ is:

  1. Lamarck
  2. Ernst Mayr
  3. T.H. Morgan
  4. Watson
✅ View Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: (2) Ernst Mayr
Explanation: Ernst Mayr is famously known as the Darwin of the 20th Century for his work in evolutionary biology.

Q16. Herbarium sheets are arranged according to:

  1. Engler and Prantl system
  2. Bentham and Hooker system
  3. Hutchinson system
  4. Linnaeus system
✅ View Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: (2) Bentham and Hooker system
Explanation: In India and many Commonwealth countries, herbarium sheets are arranged according to the universally accepted Bentham and Hooker system of classification.

Q17. Which of the following suffixes represents a ‘Family’ in plants?

  1. -ales
  2. -aceae
  3. -ae
  4. -on
✅ View Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: (2) -aceae
Explanation: -ales is for Order (e.g., Poales), -aceae is for Family (e.g., Solanaceae).

Q18. Quick referral system in taxonomical studies is:

  1. Botanical Garden
  2. Herbarium
  3. Museum
  4. Key
✅ View Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: (2) Herbarium
Explanation: Herbaria serve as a quick referral system in taxonomic studies because sheets are arranged systematically.

Q19. Biological concept of species was proposed by:

  1. Linnaeus
  2. John Ray
  3. Ernst Mayr
  4. Julian Huxley
✅ View Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: (3) Ernst Mayr
Explanation: Ernst Mayr defined species as a group of interbreeding natural populations that are reproductively isolated from other such groups.

Q20. Which of the following is correct descending order of hierarchy?

  1. Kingdom – Division – Class – Order – Family – Genus – Species
  2. Kingdom – Class – Division – Order – Family – Genus – Species
  3. Kingdom – Order – Class – Family – Genus – Species
  4. Species – Genus – Family – Order – Class – Division – Kingdom
✅ View Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: (1) Kingdom – Division – Class – Order – Family – Genus – Species
Explanation: This is the standard descending order of taxonomic categories.

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