164. One vascular plant bears cone seeds and another has seeds inside fruits. What are their respective groups?
[RRB Group D 2025 recruitment, 14 Aug 2026 Shift 3]
(A) Gymnosperm and angiosperm
(B) Bryophyte and gymnosperm
(C) Angiosperm and pteridophyte
(D) Pteridophyte and bryophyte
Answer: (A) Gymnosperm and angiosperm
Explanation: Gymnosperms bear naked seeds, commonly on cone scales, without enclosure by a ripened ovary. Angiosperms are flowering plants in which the ovary becomes a fruit enclosing the seeds, providing the diagnostic difference.
163. Which plant group has naked seeds and ordinarily does not require external water for fertilisation?
[RRB Group D 2025 recruitment, 21 Aug 2026 Shift 1]
(A) Bryophytes
(B) Pteridophytes
(C) Gymnosperms
(D) Angiosperms
Answer: (C) Gymnosperms
Explanation: Gymnosperms develop exposed ovules and seeds, and pollen conveys the male gametophyte, avoiding the free-water requirement characteristic of bryophytes and ferns. Angiosperms also use pollen but enclose their seeds within fruits.
162. A plant has vascular tissue yet needs free water for reproduction. Which division is most likely?
[RRB Group D 2025 recruitment, 19 Aug 2026 Shift 3]
(A) Pteridophyta
(B) Angiosperms
(C) Gymnosperms
(D) Bryophyta
Answer: (A) Pteridophyta
Explanation: Pteridophytes possess xylem and phloem, unlike bryophytes, but their flagellated male gametes generally swim through water to reach the archegonium. This limits fertilisation in dry conditions despite their developed conducting tissues.
161. Warm, moist conditions in a fungal culture most directly promote what process?
[RRB Group D 2025 recruitment, 04 Aug 2026 Shift 2]
(A) Spore germination and growth
(B) Formation of pigments only
(C) Storage of energy in vacuoles
(D) Maximal cell division irrespective of nutrients
Answer: (A) Spore germination and growth
Explanation: Many fungal spores germinate readily when moisture and suitable warmth are available. Water supports enzyme action and nutrient absorption, while temperature affects metabolic rates. Specific needs differ among species, so these conditions principally support development and colonisation.
160. Assertion: Binomial nomenclature standardises identification.
Reason: Each binomial has a generic name and a specific epithet.
Choose the correct relation.
[Bihar Police SI Mains Memory-Based Paper, 17 May 2026]
(A) Both are true and the reason explains the assertion
(B) Both true but the reason does not explain it
(C) Assertion true but reason false
(D) Assertion false but reason true
Answer: (A) Both are true and the reason explains the assertion
Explanation: The two-part scientific name specifies a genus and a species-level epithet, allowing unambiguous international communication. Its standardized structure explains why biological names remain consistent even when organisms possess numerous regional or common names.
159. For natural and artificial classification, which statements are correct:
I. artificial systems use few visible characters;
II. natural systems use many characters;
III. artificial classification best depicts phylogeny;
IV. natural systems are more stable?
[UP PGT Biology, 09 May 2026]
(A) I, II, III and IV
(B) II, III and IV only
(C) I and III only
(D) I, II and IV only
Answer: (D) I, II and IV only
Explanation: Artificial systems emphasise a limited selection of convenient characters and may bring unrelated groups together. Natural systems evaluate many anatomical and structural features, giving more defensible groupings. Their greater breadth makes statement III incorrect.
158. What is the defining characteristic of gymnosperms?
[NEET UG 2025, 04 May 2025]
(A) Seeds enclosed by fruit
(B) Naked seeds
(C) No seeds at all
(D) Reproduction by true flowers
Answer: (B) Naked seeds
Explanation: Gymnosperm literally means naked seed. Their ovules are not enclosed by an ovary and the resulting seeds remain exposed, commonly on cone scales. Angiosperms, by contrast, develop seeds within fruit-forming ovaries.
157. Which statement about bryophytes is incorrect?
[MPSC Group C Preliminary Examination, held 01 Jun 2025]
(A) They are called amphibians of the plant kingdom
(B) They require water for sexual reproduction
(C) They possess rhizoids instead of true roots
(D) Rhizopus is one of their examples
Answer: (D) Rhizopus is one of their examples
Explanation: Rhizopus is a fungus, not a bryophyte. Bryophytes such as liverworts and mosses lack true vascular roots and use rhizoids for anchorage. Their motile male gametes require water for fertilisation.
156. Which descending sequence correctly represents classification ranks in animals?
[UPSC CDS II, 14 September 2025, Q41]
(A) Class, Phylum, Order, Genus, Family, Species
(B) Phylum, Class, Family, Genus, Order, Species
(C) Order, Class, Phylum, Family, Species, Genus
(D) Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
Answer: (D) Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
Explanation: Animal classification becomes progressively more specific from phylum to class, order, family, genus and species. Each rank contains subdivisions at the next lower rank. Kingdom sits above phylum in the full hierarchy.
155. In which kingdom are organisms without a definite nucleus or membrane-bound organelles placed?
[SSC CGL Tier I, 12 Sep 2024 Shift 1]
(A) Fungi
(B) Protista
(C) Monera
(D) Plantae
Answer: (C) Monera
Explanation: Monera was the kingdom used in Whittaker’s system for prokaryotes, including bacteria and cyanobacteria. Their genetic material is not enclosed inside a nuclear membrane. Fungi, protists and plants are eukaryotic, possessing nuclei.
