1. Which of the following organisms is not a protozoan?

A. Amoeba
B. Ascaris ✔

C. Plasmodium
D. Paramecium

Explanation:
Ascaris is a roundworm (helminth), not a protozoan.

2. The structure of the cell membrane is a

A. double layer and a double protein layer
B. middle bi-layer of protein with a lipid layer on either surface
C. middle bi-layer of lipid with a protein layer on either surface ✔

D. protein layer with two inner lipid layers

Explanation:
The cell membrane consists of a lipid bilayer with proteins embedded on both sides.

3. Which of the following cells is a specialized cell?

A. Amoeba
B. Plasmodium
C. Guard cell ✔

D. Meristematic cell

Explanation:
Guard cells are specialized for regulating gas exchange and transpiration.

4. The following organisms have structures for movement except

A. Amoeba
B. Spirogyra ✔

C. Volvox
D. Paramecium

Explanation:
Spirogyra lacks locomotory structures.

5. Which of the following statements about protoplasm of a cell is not correct? It

A. is a gelatinous mass
B. consists of cytoplasm and nucleus
C. is the liquid part of the nucleus ✔

D. contains cellular organelles

Explanation:
The liquid part of the nucleus is called nucleoplasm, not protoplasm.

6. When a Spirogyra filament is placed in a concentrated salt solution for 30 minutes, the cell would become

A. plasmolysed ✔

B. turgid
C. shortened
D. elongated

Explanation:
Water leaves the cell by osmosis, causing plasmolysis.

7. Two characteristic features of the class to which the crocodile belongs are labeled

A. I and II
B. III and IV
C. II and IV ✔

D. II and V

Explanation:
Crocodiles belong to class Reptilia, characterized by dry scaly skin and lungs.

8. Two characteristic features of the class to which the crocodile belongs are labeled

A. I and II
B. III and IV
C. II and IV ✔

D. II and V

Explanation:
Reptiles are cold-blooded and possess scales.

9. Water and salts are both lost from the human body in

A. breath and sweat
B. breath and urine
C. breath, urine and sweat
D. sweat and urine ✔

Explanation:
Sweat and urine both contain water and dissolved salts.

10. Which of the following features could be used to determine the growth of a seedling?

A. Number of flowers
B. Number of leaves
C. Length of flowers
D. Length of radicle ✔

Explanation:
Growth is measured as increase in length, such as the radicle.

11. In which of the following cells is this division likely to take place?

A. Sperm cell
B. Blood cell
C. Muscle cell
D. Uterine cell ✔

Explanation:
Uterine cells divide by mitosis for growth and repair.

12. A plant that commonly undergoes vegetative propagation by means of leaves is

A. Hibiscus
B. Bryophyllum ✔

C. Crotalaria
D. Spirogyra

Explanation:
Bryophyllum produces plantlets along leaf margins.

13. The part of the skeleton illustrated in the diagram is the

A. atlas vertebrae
B. axis vertebrae
C. cervical vertebrae ✔

D. thoracic vertebrae

Explanation:
Cervical vertebrae are found in the neck region.

14. The function of the part labelled I is to

A. provide support to the spinal cord
B. provide surface for attachment of the muscle
C. carry the spinal cord ✔

D. articulate with adjacent vertebrae

Explanation:
The vertebral canal encloses and protects the spinal cord.

15. Blood pressure is higher in the arteries as a result of

A. stress
B. contraction and relaxation ✔

C. blockage in the arteries
D. presence of valves

Explanation:
Arteries receive blood directly from the heart during contraction.

16. A farmer who wants to keep seeds for three years before planting and wants to prevent them from sprouting uses

A. auxin
B. gibberellins
C. abscisin ✔

D. cytokinins

Explanation:
Abscisic acid inhibits germination and promotes dormancy.

17. A person had an accident that affected the skull but not the nose and later lost the sense of smell. The accident must have affected the

A. nose by extension
B. olfactory lobes of the brain ✔

C. passage from the nose to the brain
D. part of the skull near the nose

Explanation:
The olfactory lobes are responsible for smell perception.

18. Ability of the human eye to focus images accurately on the retina is called

A. astigmatism
B. myopia
C. adjustment
D. accommodation ✔

Explanation:
Accommodation enables the eye to focus on near and distant objects.

19. Which of the following characteristic features is not associated with monocotyledonous plants?

A. Well-differentiated sepals and petals ✔

B. Presence of fibrous root system
C. Presence of narrow leaves
D. Floral parts are in multiples of three

Explanation:
Monocots usually have poorly differentiated floral parts.

20. The main difference between a seed and a fruit is that a fruit

A. is large while a seed is small
B. has two scars while a seed has one ✔

C. is pigmented while a seed is not
D. can be dispersed by animals while a seed cannot

Explanation:
Fruits have additional structures such as scars and pericarp.

21. Which of the following processes removes carbon (IV) oxide from the atmosphere?

A. Burning fuels
B. Putrefaction
C. Photosynthesis ✔

D. Respiration in plants

Explanation:
Photosynthesis removes carbon (IV) oxide from the atmosphere to manufacture food.

22. Why did the student add the dilute hydrochloric acid to the sugar solution in step II? To

A. oxidize the sugar solution
B. hydrolyse the sugar solution ✔

C. dry the sugar solution
D. increase the volume of the sugar solution

Explanation:
Dilute hydrochloric acid hydrolyses non-reducing sugar into reducing sugar.

23. What is the importance of step III in the testing process? To

A. neutralize the sugar solution ✔

B. soften the sugar solution
C. change the colour of the sugar solution
D. increase the acid content of the sugar solution

Explanation:
The solution is neutralized before adding Benedict’s solution.

24. The colour change to be observed in step IV is

A. blue-black
B. brick-red ✔

C. purple
D. violet

Explanation:
A brick-red precipitate confirms the presence of reducing sugar.

25. Which of the following organs of the alimentary canal is not correctly matched with its function?

A. Gall bladder – stores bile
B. Liver – stores glycogen
C. Appendix – releases enzymes ✔

D. Teeth – grind food

Explanation:
The appendix does not release digestive enzymes.

26. A person suffering from obstruction of the bile duct is advised not to eat fats and oil because

A. bile digests fats and oil
B. fats and oil can only be absorbed when bile is absent
C. bile emulsifies fat and oil ✔

D. bile adds water to digesting food

Explanation:
Bile emulsifies fats, making digestion possible.

27. A community reaches a climax when

A. only pioneer organisms are present
B. new habitats are constantly being formed
C. there is an introduction of new plants and animal species within the community
D. the composition and size of a community remains constant over a long period ✔

Explanation:
A climax community is stable and self-sustaining.

28. Which of the following components make up an ecosystem?

A. Decomposers, animals and non-living factors
B. Living and non-living factors ✔

C. Plants and non-living factors
D. Plants, decomposers, and non-living factors

Explanation:
An ecosystem consists of biotic and abiotic components.

29. The mode of nutrition of the plant in the diagram is

A. photosynthetic and chemosynthetic
B. saprophytic and carnivorous
C. photosynthetic and carnivorous ✔

D. chemosynthetic and saprophytic

Explanation:
Pitcher plants photosynthesize and trap insects for nutrients.

30. The structure labelled I is

A. a pitcher ✔

B. an onion
C. a flower
D. a tendril

Explanation:
The modified leaf forms a pitcher for trapping insects.

31. In which type of soil is the plant found?

A. poorly aerated
B. water-logged
C. exposed
D. nitrogen-deficient ✔

Explanation:
Carnivorous plants grow in nitrogen-poor soils.

32. Which of the following organisms is an endo-parasite?

A. Tapeworm ✔

B. Flea
C. Tick
D. Aphid

Explanation:
Tapeworm lives inside the body of its host.

33. Oil applied to the surface of water kills the larvae of mosquitoes through

A. dehydration
B. poisoning
C. starvation
D. suffocation ✔

Explanation:
Oil blocks air supply, leading to suffocation.

34. Which of the following natural resources is most readily available to all organisms?

A. Oil
B. Water
C. Air ✔

D. Food

Explanation:
Air is freely available to both plants and animals.

35. Which of the following resources is non-renewable?

A. Forest reserve
B. Mineral deposit ✔

C. Water
D. Wildlife

Explanation:
Minerals cannot be replaced once exhausted.

36. Soil erosion could be prevented by

A. flooding a farmland
B. cover-cropping ✔

C. deforestation
D. leaving the soil bare

Explanation:
Cover crops protect soil from erosion.

37. Which of the following statements about human blood groups is not true?

A. A is dominant over O
B. O is recessive
C. B is dominant over O
D. A and B are co-dominant ✔

Explanation:
A and B are co-dominant, not one over the other.

38. Which of the following traits is not inheritable? Ability to

A. taste PTC
B. roll the tongue
C. move the ear
D. roll the eyeball ✔

Explanation:
Rolling the eyeball is a learned trait.

39. A woman with blood group A gives birth to a child with blood group O. Which of the following blood groups cannot belong to the father?

A. A
B. B
C. AB ✔

D. O

Explanation:
An AB father cannot produce an O blood group child.

40. How many chromosomes will be in a gamete if the normal cell has four chromosomes?

A. 2 ✔

B. 4
C. 6
D. 8

Explanation:
Gametes contain half the number of chromosomes of body cells.