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FSc Part 1 Biology MCQs with answers

Practise FSc Part 1 Biology (Part 1) with 316 exam-style MCQs, each with the answer and a short explanation. Every test is marked the moment you finish and shows your score chapter by chapter, so you know what to revise next. It is free and needs no sign-up.

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FSc Part 1 Biology MCQs with answers

Practise FSc Part 1 Biology (Part 1) with 316 exam-style MCQs, each with the answer and a short explanation. Every test is marked the moment you finish and shows your score chapter by chapter, so you know what to revise next. It is free and needs no sign-up.

316 questions · 14 chapters

What each chapter covers 14 chapters

The questions follow the syllabus chapter by chapter. You can test the whole subject or one chapter at a time.

  1. Introduction 19 questionsBranches of biology and levels of organisation, The biological method
  2. Biological molecules 25 questionsWater, carbohydrates and lipids, Proteins, nucleic acids and conjugated molecules
  3. Enzymes 19 questionsCharacteristics and mechanism of enzyme action, Factors affecting enzyme action, inhibition and classification
  4. The cell 31 questionsCell theory, microscopy, cell wall and plasma membrane, Cytoplasm and membrane-bound organelles, Nucleus and prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
  5. Variety of life 21 questionsClassification, nomenclature and the kingdom systems, Viruses
  6. Kingdom Prokaryotae 21 questionsStructure, forms and nutrition of bacteria, Growth, reproduction, importance and control of bacteria; cyanobacteria
  7. Kingdom Protista 21 questionsProtozoa: animal-like protists, Algae and fungus-like protists
  8. Kingdom Fungi 20 questionsBody, nutrition and reproduction of fungi, Classification and importance of fungi
  9. Kingdom Plantae 23 questionsBryophytes and seedless vascular plants, Seed plants: gymnosperms and angiosperms
  10. Kingdom Animalia 24 questionsBases of classification and non-coelomate phyla, Coelomate phyla and Chordata
  11. Bioenergetics 29 questionsPhotosynthesis: pigments and light-dependent reactions, Photosynthesis: light-independent reactions and photorespiration, Respiration
  12. Nutrition 20 questionsNutrition in plants and non-human animals, Digestion in humans and its disorders
  13. Gaseous exchange 20 questionsGaseous exchange in plants and animals, Human respiratory system
  14. Transport 23 questionsTransport in plants, Transport in humans
Sample FSc Part 1 Biology MCQs with answers 12 questions

12 questions from the test, one or two from each chapter. Try each one, then open the answer.

1. A botanist examines 50 different plant species, finds that every one has cells with cell walls, and concludes that all plants have cell walls. This reasoning is

  1. A
    inductive reasoning, going from many single cases to a general statement
  2. B
    deductive reasoning, going from a general statement to a single case
  3. C
    deductive reasoning, because the conclusion is certain to be true
  4. D
    inductive reasoning, because a control group was used
Show answer

Answer: A. Inductive reasoning collects specific observations and generalises from them. Deductive reasoning starts from a general rule and predicts a specific result, and a general statement reached by induction is never certain.

2. The insulin molecule, whose amino acid sequence was first worked out by Frederick Sanger, contains

  1. A
    one chain of 51 amino acids
  2. B
    four chains of 30 amino acids each
  3. C
    two chains of 141 and 146 amino acids
  4. D
    two chains of 21 and 30 amino acids
Show answer

Answer: D. Insulin has 51 amino acids in two chains: A with 21 and B with 30, joined by disulphide bridges. 141 and 146 are the α and β chains of haemoglobin.

3. An enzyme converts glucose-6-phosphate into fructose-6-phosphate without adding or removing any atoms. It belongs to the class

  1. A
    isomerases
  2. B
    oxidoreductases
  3. C
    lyases
  4. D
    ligases
Show answer

Answer: A. The product has the same formula but a different arrangement, so it is an isomerisation.

4. In a lysosomal storage disease such as Pompe's disease (glycogenosis type II), glycogen builds up in the liver and muscles because

  1. A
    the cells make far more glycogen than the muscles can use
  2. B
    a lysosomal enzyme that breaks down glycogen is missing
  3. C
    the lysosomes burst and release glycogen into the blood
  4. D
    the Golgi apparatus packages glycogen but cannot release it
Show answer

Answer: B. Storage diseases are inherited lack of a lysosomal enzyme, so its substrate accumulates inside the lysosomes.

5. Kingdom Protista was proposed by Ernst Haeckel mainly to accommodate

  1. A
    viruses and other acellular particles that infect living cells
  2. B
    microorganisms like Euglena that are neither plants nor animals
  3. C
    fungi and moulds that absorb food from dead matter
  4. D
    all prokaryotes together with the viruses
Show answer

Answer: B. Haeckel (1866) created Protista for microorganisms like Euglena that show both plant and animal features.

6. A bacterium is grown in a tube of nutrient broth. It grows throughout the tube but the growth is densest near the top. It is most likely a

  1. A
    obligate aerobe
  2. B
    facultative anaerobe
  3. C
    obligate anaerobe
  4. D
    microaerophilic bacterium
Show answer

Answer: B. Growth throughout the tube shows it can live without oxygen, and denser growth at the top shows it grows better with oxygen: a facultative anaerobe. An obligate aerobe would grow only at the top, and an obligate anaerobe only at the bottom.

7. Kingdom Protista is best described as a group of

  1. A
    acellular particles that reproduce only inside host cells
  2. B
    prokaryotic organisms with no true nucleus
  3. C
    multicellular heterotrophs that lack a cell wall
  4. D
    eukaryotes that are not plants, animals or fungi
Show answer

Answer: D. Protists are eukaryotes, mostly unicellular or simple, that do not fit into the plant, animal or fungal kingdoms.

8. The gills on the underside of a mushroom cap bear

  1. A
    conidiophores bearing conidia
  2. B
    basidia bearing four basidiospores each
  3. C
    sporangia bearing sporangiospores
  4. D
    asci bearing ascospores
Show answer

Answer: B. Mushrooms are basidiocarps of Basidiomycota; their gills are lined with basidia.

9. A student finds a small, flat, heart-shaped green plant about 1 cm across on damp soil beneath a fern. It has rhizoids on the underside and archegonia near the notch. This structure is

  1. A
    a sorus on a fertile frond
  2. B
    the gametophyte (prothallus)
  3. C
    the protonema of a moss
  4. D
    a young sporophyte (fern seedling)
Show answer

Answer: B. A small, green, heart-shaped, rhizoid-bearing plant with archegonia is the prothallus, the independent gametophyte of a fern. The young sporophyte grows later from the zygote on the prothallus.

10. Sharks differ from bony fishes in having

  1. A
    a swim bladder for buoyancy and gills under an operculum
  2. B
    a cartilaginous skeleton, placoid scales and no gill cover (operculum)
  3. C
    lungs, a three-chambered heart and a smooth moist skin
  4. D
    a bony skeleton, cycloid scales and a gill cover (operculum)
Show answer

Answer: B. Chondrichthyes have cartilage skeletons, placoid scales, exposed gill slits and no swim bladder. Bony fishes have an operculum and swim bladder.

11. Photolysis of water, which replaces the electrons lost by the reaction centre, is associated with

  1. A
    glycolysis
  2. B
    photosystem II
  3. C
    the Calvin cycle
  4. D
    photosystem I
Show answer

Answer: B. The water-splitting complex supplies electrons to P680 of PS II, releasing O2 and H+.

12. The Venus flytrap is

  1. A
    Cuscuta
  2. B
    Nepenthes
  3. C
    Drosera
  4. D
    Dionaea
Show answer

Answer: D. Dionaea has hinged leaf lobes that snap shut. Nepenthes is the pitcher plant; Drosera (sundew) uses sticky glandular hairs.

Try 304 more questions

Ways to practise 5 ways

When you get a question wrong, a short note called "The idea behind this" explains the topic it belongs to, with the rules to remember and a worked example.

Common questions

Is this FSc Part 1 Biology test free?

Yes. Every test and every explanation is free, and you do not need an account. If you sign in, your results are kept across your devices.

Are these past paper questions?

The 316 MCQs are our own, written to the syllabus in the style of the exam.

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Instantly. You get your score, the right answer and an explanation for every question, and a list of the topics to work on.

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