FSc Part 1 Biology chapter 1: Introduction MCQs with answers

By Team Megalecture · Updated 4 Nov 2026

19 exam-style questions on Introduction, each with the answer and a short explanation. Ten of them are below to try. The chapter test draws ten fresh questions each time and is marked the moment you finish, with your score by topic.

19 questions · 2 topics · 10 per test

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What chapter 1 covers

Ten Introduction questions with answers

Try each one, then open the answer. These ten stay the same; the test draws new ones every time.

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 study of fossils and of organisms that lived in the past is called

  1. A
    palaeontology
  2. B
    embryology
  3. C
    taxonomy
  4. D
    biogeography
Show answer

Answer: A. Palaeontology studies fossils. Biogeography deals with the distribution of living organisms over the earth, not extinct forms.

3. A student grows 5 bean plants with fertiliser (final heights 24, 26, 25, 27 and 23 cm) and 5 identical plants without fertiliser (20, 22, 21, 19 and 23 cm), giving both groups the same light and water. The plants with fertiliser are, on average, taller by about

  1. A
    4%
  2. B
    16%
  3. C
    19%
  4. D
    25%
Show answer

Answer: C. Mean with fertiliser = 125 ÷ 5 = 25 cm; mean without = 105 ÷ 5 = 21 cm. The difference of 4 cm is 4 ÷ 21 = about 19% of the control mean (16% comes from wrongly dividing by 25).

4. Which level of organisation includes all parts of the earth where living organisms exist?

  1. A
    community
  2. B
    ecosystem
  3. C
    population
  4. D
    biosphere
Show answer

Answer: D. The biosphere is the part of the earth (land, water and air) inhabited by living things; it is the highest level of organisation.

5. A plant breeder grows 500 plants in tissue culture, each from a single cell taken from the same parent plant. Apart from mutations, these 500 plants are

  1. A
    hybrids carrying genes from two different parents
  2. B
    genetically identical to the parent and to each other
  3. C
    genetically different because each cell divided separately
  4. D
    polyploid because tissue culture doubles the chromosomes
Show answer

Answer: B. Cells grown from one parent by mitosis are genetically identical, so the 500 plants form a clone. Hybridisation needs two parents.

6. A tentative explanation of an observation, which can be tested by experiment, is called a

  1. A
    law
  2. B
    theory
  3. C
    hypothesis
  4. D
    deduction
Show answer

Answer: C. A hypothesis is a testable, tentative answer. A theory is a hypothesis that has been supported repeatedly by experiments.

7. A farmer releases a parasitic wasp to reduce a caterpillar pest in his crop instead of spraying insecticide. This is an example of

  1. A
    hydroponics
  2. B
    conservation of wildlife
  3. C
    integrated cloning
  4. D
    biological control
Show answer

Answer: D. Biological control uses a natural enemy (predator, parasite or pathogen) of the pest, avoiding chemical pollution.

8. Ronald Ross found Plasmodium in the stomach wall of which mosquito?

  1. A
    female Anopheles
  2. B
    male Anopheles
  3. C
    female Aedes aegypti
  4. D
    female tsetse fly
Show answer

Answer: A. Ross (1897) found Plasmodium in the female Anopheles mosquito, which sucks blood. Males feed on plant juices and cannot transmit it.

9. A.F.A. King listed several observations suggesting that mosquitoes were linked to malaria. Which of these fits his list?

  1. A
    people who drank water from marshes were the ones who fell ill
  2. B
    malaria was commoner in low, wet places where mosquitoes breed
  3. C
    malaria spread quickly to people who touched or nursed patients
  4. D
    malaria came from bad air rising from rotting plant matter
Show answer

Answer: B. King noted that malaria was common in wet, low-lying areas and among people who slept outdoors, all places where mosquitoes are common. "Bad air" was the old idea he challenged.

10. In an experiment, one group of sparrows was given Plasmodium-infected mosquito bites and another identical group was kept away from mosquitoes. The second group is the

  1. A
    experimental group
  2. B
    variable group
  3. C
    control group
  4. D
    hypothesis group
Show answer

Answer: C. The control group is treated in exactly the same way except for the factor being tested, so any difference can be linked to that factor.

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Ways to practise this chapter

Introduction: questions students ask

How many Introduction MCQs are there?

19, each with the answer and a short explanation, across 2 topics: Branches of biology and levels of organisation, The biological method. Every chapter test draws ten of them, so you can take it many times.

Is the FSc Part 1 Biology chapter 1 test free?

Yes. The test, the answers and the explanations are free and need no sign-up. Sign in only if you want your scores kept across devices.

How is the chapter test marked?

The moment you press Finish: your score, the right answer and an explanation for every question, and the ones you got wrong saved in My mistakes to retry.

Can I read the explanations in Urdu?

Yes. In practice mode and on your results you can switch the explanations to Urdu.

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