THE LIVING WORLD Detailed.pdf

intrinsicGrowth
Catabolismf Anabolism
Stimuli Response

CVN ICNB INTERATIONAL CODEFOR
INTERNATIONALIODE FORVIRALNOMENCLATURE NOMENCLATURE OFBAITERIA

Ex
situConservation
dead
Ex
situConservation

N
u
m
b
e
r
o
f
c
o
m
m
o
n
c
h
a
r
a
c
t
e
r
s
d
e
c
r
e
a
s
e
s
Less
Inclusive
Most
Inclusive
• Taxon which is : Unit of biological classification;
sometimes confused with categories.
Eg:- Division – Category
Bryophyta - taxon
TAXONOMICAL CATEGORIES
• Exclusively for plants
• Dried plant specimens are presumed
on sheets, with certain information
like date & place of collection are
name of the collector.
KEY
• On the basic of similarities & dissimilarites
used for identification
• Each statement- lead
• Pair of Contrasting characters- Couplet
•
ZOOLOGICAL PARK
• Commonly
called Zoos
• To protect
wild animals
in their
protected
environment
BOTANICAL GARDEN
• Place for living plants Labelled
with biological name
• Indian Botanical Garden, Howrah
famous for Great Banyan tree.
• Flora: Accounts the distribution
of plants in a region
• Manuals : Gives information
for identification of species in
a region
• Monographs : It has collective
data on single taxon
• Catalogues : Has brief
information about species
found in region
MUSEUM
• Plants and animals
specimens are stored
• Establised in
educations institutions
MISCELLANEOUS
HERBARIUM
GROWTH
METABOLISM
• All organism (uni &
multicellular) experience
metabolic reaction at any
given time
• Involves catabolism &
anabolism
• Cellular metabolism is
defining feature
CELLULAR
ORGANISATION
• All organisms are
composed of cells
• Defining character
• Body organization starts
with sub-microscopic
molecular level.
CONSCIOUSNESS
• Responding to stimuli
• Sensing the environment
• Humans are – self conscious
• Defining character.
REPRODUCTION
• By two ways
• All living being reproduce
for continuity of species
• Twin charachteristics
1. Mass
2. Number
• Not a defining feature
CLASSIFICATION
• Done by analysing the similarities
& Dissimilarities among organism.
SYSTEMATIC
BINOMIAL
NOMENCLATURE
• Branch of science dealing
with organism's diversity
& their relationship.
• scope: • CHARACTERIZATION
• IDENTIFICATION
• CLASSIFICATION
• NOMENCLATURE
• Plants named by ICBN
• Animals named by ICZN
• By Carolus Linnaeus
• Bionomial Name/ scientific
name (has two parts)
– Generic name: starts with
capital letters
– Specific epithet: starts with
small letters
• When typed – in italics
• When handwritten – underlined
• Author’s name may be added
at the end of biological name
DIVERSITY
IN
BOOKS
• Systems Naturae - Linnaeus
• Genera Plantarum - Linnaeus
TAXONOMICAL
AID
THE LIVING WORLD
LIVING BEING
Sexual
Asexual
lIVING WORLD
C
HARACTERIST
I
C
S
KINGDOM
PHYLUM
CLASS
ORDER
FAMILY
GENUS
SPECIES

1 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
BIOLOGY | Class 11 THE LIVING WORLD
ACTIVE SITE……….TEMPLE OF LEARNING
THE LIVING WORLD

2 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
WHAT IS LIVING?
Living is something that is alive, something that can grow, move, reproduce, respire,
and carry out various cellular activities.
• Living things are made up of cells and are capable of carrying out various cellular
activities.
• Birds, insects, animals, trees, human beings, are a few examples of living things as
they have the same characteristic features, like eating, breathing, reproduction,
growth, and development, etc is designated as living being.
• The different characteristics that best describe what a living thing is, are mentioned
below:
Characteristics of Living Beings
All the living beings share certain unique and basic characteristics which set them apart
from non-living objects. These characteristics are listed below:

3 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
1. Growth:
Growth is the ability of an organism to increase
in mass, size through Cell Growth and increase
in number of cells by Cell Division.
•Growth refers to irreversible increase in mass
or overall size of a tissue of an organism or
its parts.
•Growth is the result of difference between
anabolism (building up reactions) and
catabolism (breakdown reactions).
➢ Growth occurs when anabolism or synthetic processes exceeds catabolism.
➢ Degrowth will occur when catabolism exceeds anabolism. It will decrease the mass
of body.
• In plants, growth continues throughout life in their meristematic area, but growth
occurs to a certain age in animals.
• Unicellular organisms reproduce by cell division.
• Living organisms show internal growth due to the
addition of materials and the formation of cells
inside the body.
• Non-living objects like mountains, boulders,
crystals also grow if we take increase in body mass as a criterion of growth. But in these
objects extrinsic growth is present i.e., increase in the mass of body from outside.
Growth, therefore, cannot be taken as a defining property of living organisms.

4 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
2. Reproduction:
• Reproduction is the process by which an organism produces an individual like its
own.
• It is, however, required for survival of the population as it compensates for the loss of
life due to death.
• Reproduction is of two types, asexual and sexual. In sexual reproduction, two
parents are involved in producing more or less similar kinds of individuals.
• In asexual reproduction single parent is involved, and the individual is a copy of the
parent. It may occur by binary fission, multiple fission, spore formation, fragmentation
and vegetative multiplication. etc.

5 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
But, when we notice single-celled organisms like bacteria, unicellular alga and Amoeba,
we are not clear about the usage of these two terms -growth and reproduction, i.e.,
increase in number of cells.
• In the unicellular organism, growth and reproduction are synonyms. Many organisms
like mules, sterile worker bees, and infertile human couples do not reproduce.
• Therefore, reproduction is not an all-inclusive characteristic of the living organism.
However, no non-living object has the power to reproduce or replicate.
3. Metabolism: Metabolism refers to a series of chemical reactions that occur in a living
organism to sustain life.
• Life is a never-ending flow of energy and materials.
• The energy is required by all living cells for building and functioning of their living
matter.
• It is the sum total of all types of chemical reactions occurring in an individual due
to specific interactions among different types of molecules in the interior of cells is
called metabolism.
• Metabolism is the internal process by which our body expends energy and burns
calories.
• All activities of an organism, including growth, movements, development,
reproduction etc. are due to metabolism.
• The cellular organization of the body is the defining feature of life forms.

6 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
Types: Metabolism is of two types, namely, Anabolism and Catabolism.
Anabolism includes all the "building
up" reactions. It is also called constructive
metabolism since it involves the synthesis of
complex substances from Sampler ones, e.g.,
synthesis of organic compounds from CO₂ and
H₂O during photosynthesis, formation of starch
from glucose, production of proteins from
amino acids, formation of lipids from fatty
acids and alcohols. Energy is stored (as potential energy) in the process.
Starch Catabolism (= katabolism) constitutes "breakdown reactions". It is also
known as destructive
metabolism because it involves
breaking of complex substances into
simpler ones. Potential energy present
in the complex substances is converted
into kinetic energy. Respiration is an
example of catabolism. It releases energy for performing different body activities.

7 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
4. Cellular structure: Body of all living organisms consists of cells and their products.
Hence, cellular organization of the body is the defining feature of life forms.
5. Consciousness: It is a property by the virtue of which an organism responds to an
external stimulus or change in environment.
• External stimuli may be physical, chemical or biological. Plants also respond to
stimuli like light, water, gravitation, pollution etc.
• All living organisms prokaryotic to eukaryotic can sense and respond.
• A human being is the only organism who is aware of himself(self-consciousness).
• Consciousness becomes the defining property of living organisms. All living beings,
plants and animals, are aware of their environment. All organisms sense their
surroundings and respond to sudden or smooth changes in it.
• It is most obvious and technically complicated feature of all living organisms.
• The foregoing discussion, nevertheless concludes that living beings are organized, self-
replicating, evolving and self-regulating interactive systems, with consciousness at
the head of all.
Other characteristics of living beings are adaptation, life span, homeostasis, healing and
repair, movement and variation.
B. Biodiversity
• From a current estimation, approximately 1.7 million species have been scientifically
named and classified. These include nearly 1.2 million animals and over 0.5 million
species of plants.
• Amongst animals, insects form the largest group, i.e., over 10,25,000 species. It is
estimated that majority of species diversity is confined to tropical rain forests and huge
diversity exist in under water reef formations in tropical oceans.

8 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
• Existing living species are the outcome of about 3.5 billion years of evolutionary process
on this earth. Nearly 15,000 new organisms are discovered every year.
• A clearer understanding of this huge variety of organisms can be studied by dividing
these into smaller groups or sub-groups (categories) and each group or sub-group
comprising of organisms with more or less similar characters.
• Method of placing organisms into groups or sub-groups depending upon extent of
similarities and differences is called classification.
• The division of organisms into different groups follows certain rules, that is why the
term called taxonomy is used for classification of organisms following certain rules or
principles.
C. Need for classification
Classification is a very important aspect of Biology. It has greatly eased the study of
various organisms and their evolution.
• There are millions of plants & animals varying in their form, structure & complexity.
• It is impossible to study all of them individually. To make the study of organisms
possible and easier, scientists have divided organisms into different ranks or categories
on the basis of similarities and differences.
• Classification is just like systematically arranged library where we can easily find out
the required book, in the same way, if the organisms are arranged according to a system,
it makes their study easy.
D. Taxonomy and Systematics
Taxonomy: The branch of science dealing with the study of principles and procedures of
classification is called taxonomy. The term taxonomy was coined by A.P. de Candolle.
Linnaeus is considered as Father of Taxonomy. Santapau is considered as Father of
Indian Taxonomy. The fundamental elements of taxonomy are as follows:
 Characterization and identification: It is the determination of the similarities of an
organism with an already known organism, based upon specific characters.
 Nomenclature: It is the determination of correct name of an organism according to
established universal rules.

9 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
 Classification: It is grouping of organisms into
convenient categories on the basis of easily
observable characters.
The classical taxonomy is based on observable
morphological characters; however, the modern
taxonomy deals with several characters for the
classification of organisms like
(a) External and internal structure along with the
structure of cell.
(b) Development process.
(c) Ecological information of organisms.
Systematics: The word "systematics" is derived from Latin word systema which means
systematic arrangement of organisms. It was first used by Carolus Linnaeus. According to
him, "systematics is the discipline of biology which deals with the kind and diversity of
all organisms and the existing relationships amongst them."
Generally, the terms such as classification, systematics and taxonomy are used
interchangeably but some taxonomists like Simpson (1961) relate them with a separate
field. He defined systematics as "The study of diversity of organisms and all their
comparative and evolutionary relationships based on comparative anatomy, comparative
ecology, comparative physiology and comparative biochemistry."
The main uses of systematics are as given below:
• It helps in providing knowledge of great diversity of animals and plants. It provides
information regarding evolution which took place among plants and animals by knowing
the distinction, relationship, habitat and habits. It thus, gives a vivid picture of entire
organic diversity.
• It helps in the identification of fossils which gives useful information about the
phylogeny of organisms.
• Newly discovered organisms can be identified through systematics.

10 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
NOMENCLATURE
There is a need to standardize the naming of living organisms, such that a particular
organism is known by same name all over the world. A variety of nomenclatural methods
are described below:
1. Vernacular name: Names in local or common language are called vernacular names.
So, many vernacular names exist for an organism in different languages. These may
vary from place to place.
2. Scientific names: These names were based on definite rules and criteria. These are
of following types:
(i) Polynomial nomenclature
(ii) Trinomial nomenclature [both given in concept builder]
(iii) Binomial system of nomenclature:
a. Swedish naturalist Carolus Linnaeus established binomial nomenclature though,
it was first proposed by Casper Bauhin in his book PINAX.
b. In binomial nomenclature, the first word is a generic name and second word is a
specific epithet like Mangifera indica Linn.
c. After end of biological name, the name of author is written in abbreviated form
who gave the name of the organism.
d. Scientific names are in Latin, because Latin was the language of scholars at the
time of Linnaeus, and no change is possible in the language because this
language has no synonyms.
e. Linnaeus gave some principles of the binomial nomenclature in Philosophia
Botanica.
f. The nomenclature was used first in Species Plantarum (1753), where names and
description of 5900 species of plants were given.
g. He published Systema Naturae (1758), where 4326 species of animals were
described.
A. International Code of Nomenclature
Scientific names have been standardized through some international agencies, viz., International
Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN, 1961) and International Code of Zoological Nomenclature
(ICZN, 1964), International Code for Nomenclature of Bacteria (ICNB), International Code of
Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP) and currently being developed is International
Committee for the Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV).
B. Rules for Binomial Nomenclature
ICBN and ICZN formulated certain rules and regulations for giving scientific names to all organisms.
These rules are as follows:

11 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
• The valid name of an organism has two components, i.e., a generic name and a specific epithet.
The generic name should begin with a capital letter and species name should begin with a
small letter.
• Both the words in a biological name when handwritten are separately underlined or printed in
italics to indicate their Latin origin.
• The name of the author should be written after the scientific name in Roman type with capital
letter without any comma in between and is written in an abbreviated form, e.g., Homo
sapiens Linn. is the complete scientific name for modern man. This shows that Linnaeus was
the first scientist who named man as Homo sapiens.
• Scientific names should not contain less than three and more than twelve letters.
• Principle of priority: It is the most important of all the rules of ICBN. If first name given to the
organism is valid (in terms of rules), that will be considered at the first preference. Any
other valid name given after that will be considered as synonym. No names are recognised
prior to those used by Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae for animals
and 1753 for plants.
• All the three words (generic name, species epithet and author citation) collectively form
Binomial epithet.
• If a species name has two or more words in its name, a hyphen is put between these. Such names
are compound specific names (e.g., Hibiscus rosa-sinensis).
Other scientific Methods of Nomenclature and additional Rules
(a) Polynomial nomenclature: This system was used before 1750. In this system, names of the
plants are based upon morphological characters, e.g., Caryophyllum. The name given was
"Caryophyllum saxatilis folis gramineus umbellatis corymbis" meaning it is caryophyllum
growing on rocks having grass like leaves and umbellate corymb arrangement of flowers. But
these names became lengthy and difficult to remember.
(b) Trinomial nomenclature: Proposed by Lamarck, it involves the use of three words for a
name so that the names of subspecies (animals) or varieties (plants) can also be
incorporated. For example, Brassica oleracea var. botrytis, Corvus splendens splendens.
Some examples of subspecies and varieties are given below:
Corvus splendens splendens – Indian crow
Gorilla gorilla gorilla – Gorilla (animal)
Brassica oleracea var. capitata – Cabbage
Acacia nilotica var. indica – Indian Babul
(c) Synonyms: In case two or more names are given, the oldest, i.e., the name given first is
recognised as valid name and all other names are called synonyms. e.g, Albugo candida (=
Cystopus candidus)
Tautonyms : When generic and specific name are same, e.g., Rattus rattus. Tautonyms are
not recognised by botanists. Autonyms: When species and subspecies or variety names are
same, e.g., Corvous splendens splendens, Acacia nilotica nilotica.
Homonyms: One name for two different plants. e.g., Prunus dulsi, (For both almond and
plum)
Concept Builder

12 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
TAXONOMIC CATEGORIES
•Classification is not a single step process. It involves hierarchy of steps in which each step
represents a rank or category.
•The category is a part of overall taxonomic arrangement. All categories together make
taxonomic hierarchy.
•Each category is also termed as a unit of classification. It represents a rank and is
commonly called as taxon.
•The taxon must be recognisable and order should belong to a category.
•Taxonomic hierarchy is a series of different ranks placed in ascending or descending
order.
•It was Linnaeus who for the first time introduced five categories in the taxonomic
hierarchy, viz., class, order, genus, species and variety.
•Later on three more categories, viz., kingdom, division or phylum and family were added.
•Variety was Species discarded to make a hierarchy of seven obligate categories.
•Taxonomic categories kingdom -division (in plants) or phylum (in animals) -class -order
-family -genus -species. (Descending order)
•Higher the category, higher is the number of organisms in it. Higher the category,
fewer will be the number of common characters and greater is the difficulty of

13 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
determining the relationship to other taxa at the same level. Hence, the
problem of classification becomes more complex.
Taxonomic categories and hierarchy can be illustrated by an
example. Insects represent a group of organisms sharing common
features like three pairs of jointed legs.
•It means insects are recognizable concrete objects which can be
classified, and thus were given a rank or category.
•Similarly, mammals represent animals with external ears, body
hairs, mammary glands etc. Dog, mammals, animals are all
taxa but of different categories.
• Taxon dog, mammals and animals represent categories like
species, class and kingdom respectively.
Species: Term given by John Ray. It is lowest category of
classification. It is a group of closely related individuals with
similar morphological, anatomical, biochemical and cytological
characters.
 It is a group of naturally interbreeding population with the
ability to produce fertile offspring.
Individuals of a species share common gene pool.
It is reproductively isolated, thus genetically closed system.
e.g, Pisum sativum – Pea
Mangifera indica – Mango
Solanum tuberosum – Potato
Panthera leo – Lion
Homo sapiens – Human being
In these, sativum, indica, tuberosum, leo, sapiens represent the specific epithet, while
Pisum, Mangifera, Solanum, Panthera and Homo represent genus.

14 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
Genus: Genus is a group of related species. Species has more characters in common in
comparison to species of other genera.
 e.g., Potato, (Solanum tuberosum), makoi (S. nigrum) and brinjal (S. melongena)
are three different species belonging to same genus Solanum.
 Lion, leopard and tiger with several common features belong to the same genus
Panthera.
Family: It is a group of related genera with still less number of similarities as compared
to genus and species. Families are characterized on the basis of both vegetative and
reproductive features of plants.
 For example, four related genera Solanum, Petunia, Datura and Atropa belong to
the family Solanaceae. Genus Panthera and Felis (cat) are put together in family
Felidae.

15 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
Order:
 It is a group of related families which exhibit a few similar characters. The similar
characters are less in number as compared to different genera included in a family.
 For example, plant families like Convolvulaceae and Solanaceae are included in
order Polymoniales mainly based on floral characters.
 In animals, order carnivora includes families like Felidae (cat) and Canidae (dog).
Class: It is a group of related orders.
 For example , plants order like Sapindales (mango) and Polymoniales are included in
Class -Dicotyledonae, Order -Volvocales (Volvox) and Conjugales (Spirogyra) are
included in
Class -Chlorophyceae (green algae).
In animals, order Primata (man, monkey) and Carnivora (cat, dog) are included in
class -Mammalia.
Phylum/Division: It is a group of related classes.

16 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
 The phylum Chordata of animals contains not only the class mammalia but also aves
(birds), reptilia (reptiles) amphibia (amphibians) and osteichthyes (fishes).
 In case of plants, classes with few similar characters like dicots and monocots
constitute division -Angiospermae.
 The category phylum is used in animalia while division is used in plantae.
Kingdom:
 It is highest category in hierarchy with related phylums or divisions.
 Kingdom animalia includes all animals belonging to different phyla. Kingdom Plantae
includes all plants of various divisions.
Table 1.1 : Organisms with their taxonomic categories
Common
Name
Biological
Name
Genus Family Order Class Phylum/
Division
Man
Housefly
Mango
Wheat
Homo sapiens
Musca
domestica
Mangifera
indica
Triticum
aestivum
Homo
Musca
Mangifera
Triticum
Hominidae
Muscidae
Anacardiaceae
Poaceae
Primata
Diptra
Sapindales
Poales
Mammalia
Insecta
Dicotyledonae
Monocotyledonae
Chordata
Arthropoda
Angiospermae
Angiospermae

17 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
Concept of Species:
Biological concept of species (was given by Ernst Mayr): Species is the fundamental unit
of classification.
A species is a group of organisms
(i) which are closely related (structurally and functionally) sharing a common gene pool
(ii) which can interbreed freely in nature and produce fertile offspring in a natural
environment. This concept of species is based upon reproductive isolation and
called biological concept.
Some important interspecific hybrids (exception of biological concept of species)
(i) Sterile Hybrid (under natural conditions)
Mule = Between male donkey and female horse (Mare)
Hinny = Between male horse (Stal'lion) and female donkey
(ii) Fertile Hybrid (under captive conditions)
Tigon = Between male tiger and female lion
Liger = Between male lion and female tiger
Types of Species :
1 . Morphospecies : Species erected on the basis of morphological characters only.
2. Taxonomic species : Species having a definite binomial name.
3. Sibling species : True species which do not interbreed, but are otherwise difficult to
separate on the basis of morphological characters alone.
4. Allopatric species : Species having exclusive areas of geographic distribution.
5. Sympatric species : Species having overlapping areas of geographic distribution.
6. Parapatric species : Species with adjacent geographic ranges meeting in very narrow zone
of overlap.
7. Neontological species : Living species
8. Allochronic species : Species belonging to different time period.
9. Synchronic species : Species belonging to same period of time.
10. Polytypic species : Species which have more than one ideal types (subspecies) according
to their geographically isolated areas.
(a) In accordance with International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, the names of different categories must end in
the standard endings (suffixes) given below :
Term given by: Category: Suffix
Eichler Division -phyta
Linnaeus Class -phyceae or -opsida or -ae
Linnaeus Order -ales
John Ray Family -aceae
Tribe -eae
Concept Builder

18 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
Suffixes used in the animal kingdom are:
Family -idae
Tribe -ini
Tournefort gave the term genus and John Ray gave the term species
(b) Names of some families are changed according to ICBN rules for suffixes.
Old Name New Name
Palmae Arecaceae
Graminae Poaceae
Leguminosae Fabaceae
Compositae Asteraceae
Cruciferae Brassicaceae
Umbelliferae Apiaceae
Labiatae Lamiaceae
Guttiferae Clusiaceae
(c) Tribe is an intermediate category between sub-family and genus.
(d) In asexually reproducing organisms, physical resemblances and differences are used for delimiting species.
(e) Basic function of biological classification :
(a) Recognition and description of species.
(b) Grouping the species on the basis of similarities and relationship.
(c) To establish evolutionary relationship amongst different organisms.
(f) The genera which have more than one specific epithets, are known as polytypic.
Lion – Panthera leo
Leopard – Panthera pardus
Tiger – Panthera tigris
(g) There are 7 obligate categories and about 21 intermediate categories. Prefixes: sub-and superused for
intermediate categories.
(h) Species name is given on the basis of some characters or habit, colour and distribution, e.g., niger (black), alba
(white), tuberosum (tuber).
(i) Taxon is a group of real organisms which is assigned for any category. It is the unit of classification for any rank.
Term taxon was introduced by ICBN in 1956 and defined by Mayr (1964).
(j) Category is an abstract term and represents only rank or level in a hierarchy and does not represent the living
organisms. Example: Reptile is taxon but reptilia is category.
(k) Typological concept of Species
It was proposed by “Aristotle” and “Plato”. According to this concept, “There is a definite type or pattern of
characters are present in the each species and all the members of species shows maximum resemblance with
this pattern”. The species in which one fixed pattern of characters is present are called as monotypic species.
e.g., Bacteria, Blue green algae if more than one type of pattern of characters are present. These are called
“Polytypic species” or “Macrospecies”. e.g., Brassica oleracea → Cauliflower, Cabbage, Knol-Knol.
Type of Polytypic Species :
Biotype : Members of same species inhabiting similar environment and having some genetic variations are known
as biotypes. Variations found in these members are permanent. These members can not interbreed among
themselves. e.g. Cauliflower, Cabbage, Knol-Khol are three biotypes of one species
Ecotypes : Members of same species inhabiting different environment and having some genetic variations are
known as ecotypes. Variations are permanent. These members can interbreed among themselves but due to
geographical barrier they can not interbreed.
e.g., Crow (Corvus splendense) found in different regions are ecotype of one species
Corvus splendense splendense - Indian crow
Corvus splendense insolense - Myanmar crow
Corvus splendense protegatus - Srilankan crow
Ecospecies : It contains one or more ecotype which although interfertile (capable of interbreeding), but do not
produce viable offsprings due to some natural interruption (mountain, ocean etc).
Ecads or Ecophenes : Members of same species having some non genetic variation due to environment. These
variations are temporary.
e.g.,

19 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH

20 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
TAXONOMICAL AIDS
 The laboratory and field studies are required for identification of various species
and their placement in taxonomical hierarchy.
 The information thus gathered about the species, needs to be stored for future use.
 The taxonomical aids developed by biologists have established certain procedures
and techniques to store and preserve the information as well as the specimens.
1. Botanical Gardens
 From the time of Theophrastus,
gardens have contributed to the
science of botany. But there was an
impetus to the botanical explorations
only in the post-Linnean period.
 In ancient Indian culture, cultivation of
food and medicinal plants is known
since 4000 to 2000 B.C. The 'Hanging
Gardens of Babylon' are amongst the
wonders of the ancient world.
 During the Middle Ages, from A.D. 600-
1600, there was a lapse in learning and
introduction of plants.
 In the seventeenth century, there was a revival in the interest and by eighteenth
century, most of the famous Botanical Gardens known today had already been
established.
The functions of a botanical garden are:
1. Provide records of local flora for monographic work.
2. Provide facilities for collections and identification of living plant material for
biosystematics studies / references.
3. Supply seeds and material for botanical investigations.
4. Botanical gardens have an aesthetic appeal and attract a large number of visitors
for observing general plant diversity.
5. Provides means of ex-situ conservation strategies.
There are about 525 botanical gardens in various countries, but only about 125 have
documented collections of authenticated taxa.
6. The International Association of Botanical Gardens was established in 1962. This
association has published the International Directory of Botanical Gardens (1983).

21 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
Some of the important Botanical Gardens are listed below :
1. Royal Botanical Garden, Kew, England: It was founded in 1759 by William Alton, but was
officially opened in 1841 and was called the Botanical Capital of the World. Sir J.D. Hooker
was one of its directors. It is famous for its Alpine house, Rose Garden, Green house,
Temperature house, Bamboo garden and Lily pond. It is associated with Jodrell laboratory
of experimental taxonomy. It is spread in 200 acres. It is famous for collection of Acacias,
Acer, Rhus, Citrus, Rosa, Prunus, Magnolia. It has Chelsa Physic Garden for horticulturists.
Kew
2. Orto Botanico (Padua Gardens), Italy: It is said to be the first botanical garden. It is
famous for collections of grasses, Alliums, Irids, Paeonias, succulents and hydrophytes.
3. Pisa, Italy: Almost as old as Padua Gardens, it was the first to introduce palaeontological
practises; for the study of plants fossils. It is known for trees like Magnolia grandiflora,
Liriodendron tulipifera etc. Caesalpino and John Ray have been associated with this
garden.
4. Villa Taranto, Italy: It is the most beautiful garden of Italy and important from the
horticultural study point of view.
5. Main Botanical Garden, Moscow: Largest Botanical Garden, spread over an area of 900
acres.
BOTANICAL GARDENS OF INDIA
 The Indian Botanical Garden, Kolkata, India: It was founded in 1787, by Lt.Col.
Robert Kyd. It covers an area of 273 acres and contains collections of world's
tropical plants.
 It is one of the greatest botanical gardens of the world and one of the first to be
established in tropics.
 William Roxburgh, 'Father of Indian Botany' was its director from 1793 to 1813.
 It has the largest herbarium of east and is famous for the Great Banyan tree, Ficus
benghalensis, which is two centuries old, the palm houses, nurseries and the
Amazon lily, Victoria amazonica (Nymphaeaceae), the plant with the largest
leaves.
 It is now under control of BSI (Botanical Survey of India).
Other botanical gardens of India are -
Lloyd Botanical Garden – Darjeeling
National Botanical Garden – Lucknow
Lalbag Gardens – Bangalore
Saharanpur Botanical Gardens – Saharanpur
2. Herbarium (Dry Garden)
 It is defined as "a store house of collected plant specimens that are dried, pressed
and preserved on sheets."
 These sheets are arranged in the sequence of an accepted classification system.
Concept Builder

22 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
 These specimens, along with their description on herbarium sheets, become a store
house or repository for future use. The herbarium sheet contains a label on the
right-hand side at lower corner.
 Label provides information about date and place of collection, English, local and
botanical names, family, collector's name etc.
 Herbaria also serve as quick referral systems
in taxonomical studies.
Herbarium Technique
The herbarium technique involves the following steps:
(a) Collection (b) Drying (c) Poisoning (d) Mounting
(e) Stitching (f) Labelling (g) Deposition
(a) Collection: Collection of plant material is done with an aesthetic sense and scientific mind.
The material should be perfect and complete for determination, i.e., must have fully grown
leaves, complete inflorescence etc.
Woody elements are well represented by flowering twigs with 30-40 cm in lengths, while
herbaceous plants are collected alongwith underground parts.
Diseased plants, infected twigs should be avoided.
The collections are kept inside metallic vasculum or polythene bags.
(b) Drying: The plant collections are pressed in ordinary newspaper folders, avoiding overlapping. The
folders, in turn, are pressed in a field press. The moistened folders are changed frequently to avoid
blackening and decay of plant material.
(c) Poisoning: The specimens are poisoned to keep away the microbes. When the specimens are partially
dehydrated, they are poisoned by using chemicals like 0.1% of corrosive, sublimate (HgCl2).
(d-f) Mounting, Stitching and Labelling: Dried specimens are glued and stitched on herbarium sheets
made up of thick card sheets cut to the required size. The international size of the herbarium sheet
is 41× 29 cm (16
2
1
×11
2
1
inches) . The field data is entered on label on the right hand side lower
corner of the herbarium sheet. Size of label is commonly 7 × 12cm. The small paper envelopes called
fragment packets are often attached to the herbarium sheet to hold seeds, extra flowers or loose
plant parts.
(g) Deposition: Arrangement of specimen, according to accepted classification, is called deposition. In
India, herbaria are arranged according to Bentham and Hooker system of classification.
The specimens so preserved are sprayed with repellents or disinfectants such as DDT powder, copper
sulphate solution at intervals of 4 to 6 months to keep off small insect pests such as silver fish.
Concept Builder

23 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
Functions of a Herbarium
The two primary functions of herbarium are accurate identification and alpha taxonomic
research (based on gross morphology).
The secondary functions include closer interaction between the student of general
systematics and the herbarium.
Other important functions of a herbarium are –
1. To preserve plant wealth including type material and palaeobotanical collections.
2. To carry out exchange and loan of preserved plant material for research, exhibitions
etc.
A list of important herbaria of the world is given below along with their standard
abbreviations and the approximate number of specimens they hold
1. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew (K)
4. Central National Herbarium, Calcutta (CAL)
over 6,000,000
2,000,000
TYPE SPECIMEN (HERBARIUM SHEET)
Type specimen (Herbarium Sheet) of newly discovered plant should be place in herbarium
(Dry garden). Standered size of herbarium sheet is 11.5 × 16.5 inches.
•Holotype - Herbarium sheet on which the first description of plant is based.
•Isotype - Duplicate of holotype - In presence of holotype a second herbarium sheet
prepared from the original plant is called isotype.
•Paratype - Additional herbarium sheet used in the first description of plant is called
paratype. It is prepared from some other plant of same species having some
variations.
•Lectotype - In case of holotype is lost, second herbarium sheet prepared from the
original plant is called lectotype.
•Neotype - In case of holotype and original plant is lost, then herbarium sheet prepared
from some other plant of same species is called neotype.
• Syntype - In case of holotype and original plant is lost then many herbarium sheet
prepared from many plants of same species is called syntype.
Note: Nomenclature is invalid in absence of Herbarium sheet.
3. Keys [Given by John Ray]
The scheme for identification of plants and animals based upon similarities and
dissimilarities is known as a key. It is based on the set of contrasting characters known as
couplet; each character of couplet is called as lead. Separate taxonomic keys are required
for each taxonomic category. Keys are generally analytical in nature and are of two types
(1) Indented key (2) Bracketed key –
A. Indented Key: It has a sequence of choice between two or more statements of
characters of species. These require great taxonomic skills to prepare, so are
generally less followed.
B. Bracketed Key: In the Bracketed key the pairs of contrasting statements are used
for identification. The bracketed number on the right side indicates the next choice
of paired contrasting statements. These are most popular keys.

24 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
4. Zoological Parks
 Zoos or zoological gardens (parks) are
protected areas or enclosed space
where live wild animals are kept,
under human care. This enables us to
learn their food habits and behaviour.
 Objectives are public exhibition to
understand wild life, recreation,
education, ex situ conservation and
breeding of rare fauna.
 Largest zoo of the world is situated in
Kruger (S. Africa).
 National Zoological Park (Delhi) is one of the finest zoo of Asia.
5. Museums
 These have collections of preserved plants and animals for study and reference.
 Specimens are preserved in jars or containers in preservative solution.
 Plant and animal specimens may also be preserved as dry specimens.
 Insects are preserved in insect boxes after collecting, killing and pinning.
 Larger animals are usually stuffed and preserved.
 These often have collections of skeletons of animals too.
 Museums are prepared to preserve algae, fungi, mosses, ferns and organs of
gymnosperms since they cannot be kept in herbaria. These differs from parks
because no living object is displayed in museums.
Some important Museums:
(i) Natural History Museum, London (England)
(ii) United States National Museum, Washington
(iii) National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), Delhi
(iv) Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai etc.

25 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
Comperative Study of Botanical Garden, Herbarium and Museum :
6. Flora, Manuals, Monographs and Catalogues
Flora: Contains the actual account of habitat and distribution of plants of a given area.
These provide the index to the plant species found in a particular area.
Some important flora are given below:
(i) Flora of British India by J.D. Hooker.
(ii) Flora of Delhi by J.K. Maheshwari.
(iii) Flora Indica by William Roxburgh.
(iv) Flora Simlensis by H. Collet
Manuals: The complete listing and description of the plants growing in a particular area.
e.g., Manual of Cultivated Plants by L.H. Bailey
Monographs: Contain information on anyone taxon.
e.g., The Genus Pinus by N.T. Mirov
Catalogues: This includes the alphabetical arrangements of species describing their
features.

26 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH

27 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
SUMMARY
1. The living world is rich in variety. Millions of plants and animals have been
identified and described but a large number still remains unknown.
2. The very range of organisms in terms of size, colour, habitat, physiological and
morphological features make us seek the defining characteristics of living
organisms.
3. In order to facilitate the study of kinds and diversity of organisms, biologists have
evolved certain rules and principles for identification, nomenclature and
classification of organisms.
4. The branch of science dealing with these aspects is referred to as taxonomy.
5. The taxonomic studies of various species of plants and animals are useful in
agriculture, forestry, industry and in general for knowing our bio-resources and their
diversity.
6. The basics of taxonomy like identification, naming and classification of organisms
are universally evolved under international codes.
7. Based on the resemblances and distinct differences, each organism is identified and
assigned a correct scientific/biological name comprising two words as per the
binomial system of nomenclature.
8. An organism represents/occupies a place or position in the system of classification.
There are. many categories/ranks and are generally referred to as taxonomic
categories or taxa. All the categories constitute a taxonomic hierarchy.
9. The basis of modern taxonomic studies is: External and internal structure, along
with the structure of cell, development process and ecological information of
organisms
10. Taxonomists have developed a variety of taxonomic aids to facilitate identification,
naming and classification of organisms. These studies are carried out from the
actual specimens which are collected from the field and preserved as referrals in
the form of herbaria, museums and in botanical gardens and zoological parks. It
requires special techniques for collection and preservation of specimens in herbaria
and museums.
11. Live specimens, on the other hand, of plants and animals, are found in botanical
gardens or in zoological parks.
12. Taxonomists also prepare and disseminate information through manuals and
monographs for further taxonomic studies.
13. Taxonomic keys are tools that help in identification based on characteristics.

28 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
EXERCISE – 1
SECTION - A
Q.1 At present scientific names have been given to
(1) 10 million species (2) 1.7 million species
(3) 3.9 million species (4) 1 million species
Q.2 Study of principles and procedures of classification of organisms is
(1) Systematics (2) Classification (3) Taxonomy (4) Nomenclature
Q.3 First step of taxonomy is
(1) Characterisation (2) Identification (3) Nomenclature (4) All of these
Q.4 Taxonomy comprises
(1) Classification (3) Identification (4) Classification (2) Nomenclature
Q.5 Who among the following is called as the father of taxonomy?
(1) Lamarck (2) Linnaeus (3) A. P. de Candolle (4) Casper Bauhin
Q.6 The father of Indian systematic botany is
(1) R.Mishra (3) Theophrastus (2) Santapau (4) Linnaeus
Q.7 'Historia Generalis Plantarum' was published by
(1) Engler and Prantl (2) Hutchinson
(3) Bentham & Hooker (4) John Ray
Q.8 The book' Philosophic Zoologique' published in 1809 was written by
(1) C. Darwin (2) Huxley (3) A.I. Oparin (4) Lamarck
Q.9 'Species Plantarum' and 'Systema Naturae' were written by
(1) Engler (2) Linnaeus (3) Hooker (4) Wallace
Q.10 Carolus Linnaeus is the father of taxonomy because of one of his contribution
(1) Genera Plantarum (2) Binomial nomenclature
(3) Described nearly ten thousand plants and animal species
(4) Die Naturlichen Pflanzen Familien
Q.11 According to binomial nomenclature, two words used for naming a plant or animal are
(1) Species and genus (2) Genus and species
(3) Species and family (4) Genus and family
Q.12 Corvus splendens splendens is the scientific name of Indian crow, it represents
(1) Binomial nomenclature (2) Autonyms
(3) Tautonyms (4) Synonyms
Q.13 Type specimen described alongwith holotype is
(1) Isotype (2) Paratype (3) Topotype (4) Syntype
Q.14 Scientific names were first standardised through
(1) ICBN (2) ICZN (3) BSI (4) ZSl
Q.15 The category that includes related families is
(1) Class (2) Phylum (3) Order (4) Kingdom
Q.16 The fundamental taxonomic category or basic unit of classification is
(1) Genus (2) Species (3) Sub-species (4) Variety
Q.17 Organisms which can freely interbreed and produce fertile offspring and have similar coded
information or blue print for making these organisms are called
(1) Species (2) Tribe (3) Genus (4) Sub-genus
Q.18 The concept of genus was first proposed by
(1) Linnaeus (2) Brunfels (3) Bentham (4) Julian Huxley
Q.19 Who gave the biological concept of species?
(1) Aristotle (2) Ernst Mayr (3) John Ray (4) Carolus Linnaeus
Q.20 Hinny is a hybrid produced under natural conditions by crossing
(1) Male tiger and female lion (2) Female horse and male donkey

29 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
(3) Male horse and female donkey (4) Female tiger and male lion
Q.21 A genus having many species is known as
(1) Polytypic (2) Monotypic (3) Polygamic (4) Both (1) & (3)
Q.22 Which of the following chemicals is used for poisoning the specimens in herbarium technique?
(1) Hg2Cl2 (2) AgNO3 (3) HCl (4) HgCl2
Q.23 The international size of herbarium sheet is
(1) 41 × 29cm (2) 40 × 30 inches (3) 42 × 20cm (4) 39 × 28cm
Q.24 Which of the following is not included in the minor herbaria?
(1) Regional herbaria (2) College herbaria (3) National herbaria (4) Local herbaria
Q.25 Central National Herbarium is situated at
(1) Chennai (2) Kolkata (3) Dehradun (4) Mumbai
Q.26 National Museum of Natural History is located at
(1) Mumbai (2) Washington (3) Delhi (4) London
Q.27 Largest zoo of the world is situated in
(1) London (2) Chicago (3) Washington (4) Kruger
Q.28 The concept of key was introduced by
(1) John Ray (2) Bentham (3) Linnaeus (4) Hutchinson
Q.29 Most acceptable concept of species is -
(1) Static concept (2) Biological concept
(3) Typological concept (4) Genetic concept
Q.30 The term new systematics was introduced by -
(1) Linnaeus (2) Bentham (3) Hutchinson (4) Huxley
Q.31 Group of organisms that closely resemble each other and freely interbreed in nature, constitute a -
(1) Species (2) Genus (3) Family (4) Taxon
Q.32 ICBN was first revised in -
(1) 1961 (2) 1964 (3) 1975 (4) 1753
Q.33 The term taxon refers to -
(1) Name of a species (2) Name of genus
(3) Name of family (4) A taxonomic group of any rank
Q.34 The basic unit of classification is -
(1) Genus (2) Species (3) Order (4) All of the above
Q.35 Suffix for sub species is -
(1) Phytina (2) Oideae (3) Ineae (4) None
Q.36 Taxonomy refers to -
(1) Plant classification (2) Plant nomenclature
(3) Plant identification (4) All the above
Q.37 Systematics deals with -
(1) Classification (2) Nomenclature (3) Plant description (4) Plant exploration
Q.38 Static concept of species is given by -
(1) Linnaeus (2) Bentham (3) Koch (4) Mayr
Q.39 The suffix-ine singnifies the rank -
(1) Tribe (2) Sub-tribe (3) Sub-order (4) Sub-family
Q.40 Species living in different geographical areas are called -
(1) Allochronic (2) Allopatric (3) Sympatric (4) Siblings
Q.41 For higher plants, flowers are chiefly used as a basis of classification, because-
(1) These show a great veriety in colour
(2) It can be preserved easily
(3) Reproductive parts are more conservative than vegetative parts
(4) None of these
Q.42 The smallest unit of classification is-

30 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
(1) Family (2) Order (3) Genus (4) Species
Q.43 Concept of phylogeny was proposed by -
(1) John Ray (2) Lamarck (3) Ernest Haeckel (4) Darwin
Q.44 The standared size of herbarium sheets is -
(1) 11.5'' × 16.5'' (2) 15.5'' × 16.5'' (3) 18.5'' × 10.5'' (4) 20.5'' × 21.5''
Q.45 The systematic arrangement of taxa is called-
(1) Key (2) Taxonomy (3) Geneology (4) Hierarchy
Q.46 Number of obligatory categories in taxonomy are-
(1) 7 (2) 8 (3) 9 (4) 5
Q.47 Herbarium is -
(1) A garden where medicinal plants are grown
(2) Garden where herbaceous plants are grown
(3) Dry garden (4) Chemical to kill plants
Q.48 The year of publication of ''Species plantarum''-
(1) 1853 (2) 1857 (3) 1753 (4) 1786
Q.49 A duplicate of holotype is called -
(1) Isotype (2) Syntype (3) Neotype (4) Paratype
Q.50 Which of the following is a correct scientific name -
(1) Tamarindus (2) Indicus (3) Indica (4) Tamarindus indicus
Q.51 Practical significance of taxonomy is -
(1) Classification (2) To understand diversity
(3) To understand evolution (4) Identification of organisms
Q.52 Which name is invalid-
(1) Name not published in species plantarum
(2) Name proposed prior to 1961
(3) Name which is in latin
(4) Name for which holotype is not designated
Q.53 Author of book ''Flora of British India'' -
(1) Father Santapau (2) J.D. Hooker
(3) William Rouxburgh (4) G. Bentham
Q.54 ''Genera Plantarum'' was written by -
(1) Engler and Prantal (2) Hutchinson
(3) Bentham & Hooker (4) Bessey
Q.55 Live specimens are used for reference in taxonomic studies in
(1) Museum (2) Zoological parks
(3) Botanical gardens (4) More than one option is correct
Q.56 The scientific naming of plants begin with publication of Linnaeus book -
(1) Genera plantarum (2) Systema nature
(3) Species plantarum (4) Charaka sanhita
Q.57 Morphologically similar but reproductively isolated species are called -
(1) Neontological species (2) Sibling species
(3) Allopatric species (4) Morpho-species
Q.58 The biological concept of species is mainly based on -
(1) Morphological features (2) Morphology and method of reproduction
(3) Method of reproduction only (4) Reproductive isolation
Q.59 Tautonyms are valid names according to-
(1) ICBN (2) Species plantarum (3) Genera plantarum (4) ICZN
Q.60 Father of Indian Botany is associated with which one of the following botanical garden?
(1) National Botanical Garden (2) Lloyd Botanical Garden
(3) The Indian Botanical Garden (4) Royal Botanical Garden

31 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
SECTION - B
Q.1 Select correct statement for growth as one of the characteristic of living organisms.
(1) Growth by increase in mass is a defining property of prokaryotic organisms only
(2) Non-living objects do not show growth by increase in mass of body
(3) Intrinsic growth is a characteristic of all living organisms
(4) Growth can be extrinsic or intrinsic for multicellular organisms
Q.2 Reproduction is synonymous with growth in
(1) Most of the fungi and Planaria (2) Desmids, diatoms and protozoans
(3) Cyanobacteria, fungi and mosses (4) Mosses, algae and hydra
Q.3 Binomial epithet has
(1) Two Latin names only
(2) Two Italics names written in Latin
(3) Two Latin names and author's name in Italics
(4) Two Latin names followed by author's name in Roman
Q.4 In taxonomic hierarchy, which of the following group of taxa will have less number of similarities as
compared to other?
(1) Solanaceae, Convolvulaceae and Poaceae
(2) Polymoniales, Poales and Sapindales
(3) Solanum, Petunia and Atropa
(4) Leopard, Tiger and Lion
Q.5 In which of the following pair of category, greater is the difficulty of determining the relationship to
other taxa at the same level, thus, the problem of classification becomes more complex?
(1) Genus and species (2) Tribe and genus
(3) Division and phylum (4) Species and family
Q.6 Rice, cereals, monocots and plants represent
(1) Different taxa at different level (2) Same taxa of different category
(3) Different category of same taxa (4) Same category for different taxa
Q.7 Select the correct match
Column I Column II
a. Ex-situ conservation (i) Herbarium
b. Quick referral system (ii) Museum
c. Preserved plants (iii) Flora
d. Actual account of habitat and (iv) Botanical Gardens
distribution of plants of a given area
(1) a(ii), b(iii), c(iv), d(i) (2) a(i), b(iv), c(ii), d(iii)
(3) a(iv), b(i), c(iii), d(ii) (4) a(iv), b(i), c(ii), d(iii)
Q.8 Which one of the following criteria is/are essential and form the basis of modern taxonomic studies?
(1) Ecological information of organisms (2) Development process
(3) External and internal structure (4) All of these
Q.9 The equivalent rank of Carnivora in taxonomic categories of man and housefly is respectively
(1) Homo and Musca (2) Hominidae and Muscidae
(3) Mammalia and Insecta (4) Primata and Diptera
Q.10 Individuals of same species having non-genetic difference due to environment are called -
(1) Biotypes (2) Ecotype (3) Ecophenes (4) None
Q.11 Plant nomenclature means -
(1) To give names to plants without any rules
(2) Nomenclature of plants under the international rules
(3) Nomenclature of plants in local language
(4) Nomenclature of plants in english language
Q.12 Individuals of same species having genetic variation and occur in same environment are called-
(1) Biotypes (2) Ecotype (3) Ecophenes (4) Ecads

32 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
Q.13 For declaration of new species of higher plants what characters are used -
(1) Floral character of new species (2) Anatomical characters of new species
(3) Physiological character of new species (4) Character of endosperm
Q.14 Find the correct sequence of various steps of herbarium technique
a. Drying b. Poisoning c. Collection d. Labelling
e. Mounting f. Deposition g. Stitching
(1) c, a, b, e, g, d, f (2) c, b, d, e, I, g, a (3) c, a, b, e, g, I, d (4) c, a, b, g, e, f. d
Q.15 Species belonging to narrow zone of overlapping area are called
(1) Allochronic species (2) Parapatric species
(3) Sympatric species (4) Allopatric species
Q.16 Family tree of organisms based on the concept of E. Haeckel is
(1) Cladogram (2) Dendrogram (3) Monogram (4) Cryptogram
Q.17 The taxon Pteroopsida represents which one of the following categories in taxonomic hierarchy?
(1) Order (2) Cohort (3) Division (4) Class
Q.18 Specimen selected from original material to serve as new nomenclature type when holotype is missing
(1) Syntype (2) Paratype (3) Lectotype (4) lsotype
Q.19 Systematics is the study of
(1) Diversity amongst groups of organisms
(2) Grouping of organisms
(3) Identification and grouping of organisms
(4) Identification, classification and taxonomy
Q.20 Find incorrectly matched pair
(1) Die Naturlichen Pflanzen Familien – Engler and Prantl
(2) Families of Flowering Plants – John Hutchinson
(3) Flora of British India – Bentham
(4) Philosophila Botanica – Linnaeus
Q.21 The correct sequence of taxonomic categories is
(1) Division-class-family-tribe-order-genus-species
(2) Division-class-order- family-tribe-genus-species
(3) Phylum-order-class-tribe-family-genus-species
(4) Class-phylum-tribe-order-family-genus-species
Q.22 Two species can be said to be reproductively isolated if they are
(1) Interfertile
(2) Not interfertile
(3) Do not grow together in a common habitat
(4) Growing together in a common habitat
Q.23 Over 6,000,000 specimens are preserved in which botanical garden or herbaria?
(1) Museum of National History, Paris (2) Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew
(3) Royal Botanical Garden, Edinburgh (4) U.S. National Herbarium. Washington D.C.
Q.24 Which one of the following is the first zoological museum of India?
(1) Indian Museum, Kolkata (2) Maharaja Sawai Man Singh Museum. Jaipur
(3) Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai (4) National Museum of Natural History, Delhi
Q.25 Which of the following statements regarding nomenclature is correct -
(1) Generic name always begins with capital letter whereas specific name with small letter
(2) Scientific name should be printed in italics
(3) Scientific name when typed or handwritten should be underlined
(4) All the above

33 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
Answer Key
Section–A
Q.1 2 Q.2 3 Q.3 1 Q.4 4 Q.5 2 Q.6 2 Q.7 4
Q.8 4 Q.9 2 Q.10 2 Q.11 2 Q.12 2 Q.13 2 Q.14 1
Q.15 3 Q.16 2 Q.17 1 Q.18 2 Q.19 2 Q.20 3 Q.21 1
Q.22 4 Q.23 1 Q.24 3 Q.25 2 Q.26 3 Q.27 4 Q.28 1
Q.29 2 Q.30 4 Q.31 1 Q.32 3 Q.33 4 Q.34 2 Q.35 4
Q.36 4 Q.37 3 Q.38 1 Q.39 1 Q.40 2 Q.41 3 Q.42 4
Q.43 3 Q.44 1 Q.45 4 Q.46 1 Q.47 3 Q.48 3 Q.49 1
Q.50 4 Q.51 4 Q.52 4 Q.53 2 Q.54 3 Q.55 4 Q.56 3
Q.57 2 Q.58 4 Q.59 4 Q.60 1
Section–B
Q.1 3 Q.2 2 Q.3 4 Q.4 2 Q.5 3 Q.6 1 Q.7 3
Q.8 4 Q.9 4 Q.10 3 Q.11 2 Q.12 1 Q.13 1 Q.14 1
Q.15 2 Q.16 1 Q.17 4 Q.18 3 Q.19 1 Q.20 3 Q.21 2
Q.22 2 Q.23 2 Q.24 1 Q.25 4

34 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
EXERCISE – 2 Previous Years Questions
Q.1 Which of the following is not included under in situ conservation : [AIPMT 2006]
(1) National park (2) Santuary (3) Botanical garden (4) Biosphere reserve
Q.2 ICBN stands for : [AIPMT 2007]
(1) International Code of Botanical Nomenclature
(2) International Congress of Biological Names
(3) Indian Code of Botanical Nomenclature
(4) Indian Congress of Biological Names
Q.3 The living organisms can be unexceptionally distinguishied from the non-living things on the basis of
their ability for : [AIPMT 2007]
(1) Interaction with the environment and progressive evolution. (2) Reproduction
(3) Growth and movement (4) Responsiveness to touch
Q.4 The highest number of species in the world is represented by : [AIPMT Pre 2012]
(1) Mosses (2) Algae (3) Lichens (4) Fungi
Q.5 Who proposed the term, 'alpha, 'beta' and 'gamma' in taxonomy? [CET Chd. 2006]
(1) de Candolle (2) Turill (3) Huxley (4) Lamarck
Q.6 In which of the following, organisms are very much similar to each other : [BHU 2007]
(1) Order (2) Class (3) Genus (4) Species
Q.7 Bionomical nomenclature was given by : [BHU 2007]
(1) Linnaeus (2) Whittaker (3) Huxley (4) Darwin
Q.8 Genera Plantarum was written by : [CMC Vellore 2007]
(1) Engler and Prantl (2) Huxley (3) Carolus Linnaeus (4) Arthur Cronquist
Q.9 New systematics and the concept of life was given by : [Chd. CET 2008]
(1) Clementia (2) Elton (3) Odum (4) Huxley
Q.10 In which book Benthum and Hooker proposed their classification? [WB JEE 2008]
(1) Genera Plantarum (2) Species Plantarum
(3) Historia Plantarum (4) Historia Nature
Q.11 New systematics introduced by Sir Julian Huxley is also called : [Kerala PMT 2008]
(1) Phenetics (2) Cladistics (3) Biosystematics (4) Numerical Taxonomy
Q.12 Which one of the following statements correctly defines the term 'Homonym'? [WB JEE 2008]
(1) Identical name of two different plant.
(2) Two or more names belonging to the same taxon.
(3) When species name repeats the generic name.
(4) Other name of taxon given in a language other than the language of Zoological / Botanical nomenclature.
Q.13 'Oryza sativa' is a binomial name of rice plant. The 'sativa' stands for : [WB JEE 2008]
(1) specific name (2) specific epithet (3) species name (4) specific nomenclature
Q.14 External fertilization occurs in majority of : [DPMT 2009]
(1) algae (2) fungi (3) liverworts (4) mosses
Q.15 Largest number of species are traced in : [Chd. CET 2009]
(1) arthropoda (2) echinodermata (3) bacteria (4) fungi
Q.16 Taxonomic hierarchy refers to : [DPMT 2009]
(1) Stepwise arrangement of all categories for classification of plants and animals.
(2) A group of senior taxonomists who decide the nomenclature of plants and animals.
(3) A list of botanists or zoologists who have worked on taxonomy of a species or group.
(4) Classification of a species based on fossil record.
Q.17 Which one of the following aspects is an exclusive characteristic of living things? [AIPMT 2011]
(1) Perception of events happening in the environment and their memory.
(2) Increase in mass by accumulation of material both on surface as well as internally.
(3) Isolated metabolic reactions occur invitro
(4) Increase in mass from inside only

35 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
Q.18 The closely related morphologically similar sympatric populations, but reproductively isolated, are
designated as : [AIPMT 2011]
(1) Clones (2) Sibling species (3) Clines (4) Demes
Q.19 'Taxon' is the unit of : [AIPMT 2011]
(1) Order (2) Taxonomy (3) Species (4) Genus
Q.20 Floral features are chiefly used in angiosperms, identification, because [AIPMT 2005]
(1) Flowers can be safely pressed
(2) Reproductive parts are more stable and conservative than vegetative parts
(3) Flowers are nice to work with
(4) Flowers are of various colours
Q.21 Which of the following is least general in characters as compared to genera? [AIPMT 2001]
(1) Species (2) Division (3) Class (4) Family
Q.22 Biosystematics aims at : [AIPMT 2003]
(1) The classification of organisms based on broad morphological characters
(2) Delimiting various taxa of organisms and establishing their relationships
(3) The classification of organisms based on their evolutionary history and establishing their
phylogeny on the totality of various parameters from all fields of studies.
(4) Identification and arrangement of organisms on the basis of their cytological characteristics
Q.23 Species is considered as [AIPMT 2003]
(1) Real basic unit of classification
(2) The lowest unit of biosystematics
(3) Artificial concept of human mind which cannot be defined in absolute terms
(4) Real units of classification devised by taxonomists
Q.24 Which of the following is not true of a species? [AIPMT 2005]
(1) Members of a species can interbread
(2) Gene flow does not occur between the population of a species
(3) Each species is reproductively isolated from every other species
(4) Variations occur among members of a species
Q.25 One of the most important function of botanical gardens is that : [AIPMT 2005]
(1) They provide a beautiful area for recreation
(2) One can observe tropical plants there
(3) They allow ex-situ conservation of germplasm
(4) They provide the natural habitat for wildlife
Q.26 Two plants can be conclusively said to belong to the same species if they [AIPMT 2000]
(1) Have more than 90 percent similar genes
(2) Look similar and possess identical secondary metabolites
(3) Have same number of chromosomes
(4) Can reproduce freely with each other and form seeds
Q.27 All given are suffixes used for category class except [AIPMT 2008]
(1) -phyta (2) -opsida (3) -phyceae (4) –ae
Q.28 Biological concept of species was given by ________ and it is based on ______ [AIPMT 2000]
(1) Lamarck; physiological isolation (2) Linnaeus; morphological isolation
(3) Ernst Mayr; mechanical isolation (4) Ernst Mayr; reproductive isolation
Q.29 Primary function of herbarium is : [AIPMT 2006]
(1) -taxonomic research (2) -taxonomic research
(3) --taxonomic research (4) All of these
Q.30 Which one of the following is the first publication of Carolus Linnaeus? [AIPMT 2000]
(1) Systema Naturae (2) Classes Plantarum
(3) Hortus Cliffortianus (4) Hortus Upplandicus
Q.31 Type specimen described alongwith holotype is called [AIPMT 2001]
(1) Paratype (2) Isotype (3) Topotype (4) Lectotype

36 | 37
ACTIVE SITE EDUTECH
Q.32 Scientific name Rattus rattus is an example of [AIPMT 2001]
(1) Autonyms (2) Tautonyms (3) Synonyms (4) Homonyms
Q.33 Species belonging to different time period are called [AIPMT 2002]
(1) Synchronic species (2) Allochronic species
(3) Sympatric species (4) Allopatric species
Q.34 NBRI is situated at [AIPMT 2004]
(1) Calcutta (2) Bombay (3) Madras (4) Lucknow
Q.35 Which one of the following is not a correct statement? [AIPMT 2013]
(1) Botanical gardens have collection of living plants for reference.
(2) A museum has collection of photographs of plants and animals.
(3) Key is a taxonomic aid for identification of specimens.
(4) Herbarium houses dried, pressed and preserved plant specimens.
Q.36 Which of the following statements is wrong for viroids? [AIPMT 2016]
(1) Their RNA is of high molecular weight (2) They lack a protein coat
(3) They are smaller than viruses (4) They cause infections
Q.37 Nomenclature is governed by certain universal rules. Which one of the following is contrary to the
rules of nomenclature. [AIPMT 2016]
(1) When written by hand, the names are to be underlined
(2) Biological names can be written in any language
(3) The first word in a biological name represents the genus name, and the second is a specific epithet
(4) The names are written in Latin and are italicised
Q.38 The label of a herbarium sheet does not carry information on [AIPMT 2016]
(1) height of the plant (2) date of collection (3) name of collector (4) local names
Q.39 The genetic material in tobacco mosaic virus is [AIIMS 2016]
(1) ss DNA (2) ss RNA (3) ds RNA (4) ds DNA
Q.40 Assertion : Consciousness is considered as the defining property of living organisms.
Reason : All organisms, from the prokaryotes to the most complex eukaryotes can sense and respond
to environmental stimuli. [AIIMS 2016]
(1) If both assertion and reason are true and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
(2) If both assertion and reason are true but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
(3) If assertion is true but reason is false.
(4) If both assertion and reason are false.
Q.41 Match column I with column II and choose the correct option. [AIIMS 2017]
Column-I Column-II
A. Family I. Tuberosum
B. Kingdom II. Polymoniales
C. Order III. Solanum
D. Species IV. Plantae
E. Genus V. Solanaceae
(1) A – IV; B – III; C – V; D – II; E – I (2) A – V; B – IV; C – II; D – I; E – III
(3) A – IV; B – V; C – II; D – I; E – III (4) A – V; B – III; C – II; D – I; E – IV
Answer Key
Q.1 3 Q.2 1 Q.3 2 Q.4 4 Q.5 2 Q.6 4 Q.7 1
Q.8 3 Q.9 4 Q.10 1 Q.11 3 Q.12 1 Q.13 3 Q.14 1
Q.15 4 Q.16 1 Q.17 1 Q.18 2 Q.19 2 Q.20 2 Q.21 1
Q.22 3 Q.23 1 Q.24 2 Q.25 3 Q.26 4 Q.27 1 Q.28 4
Q.29 1 Q.30 4 Q.31 1 Q.32 2 Q.33 2 Q.34 4 Q.35 2
Q.36 1 Q.37 2 Q.38 1 Q.39 2 Q.40 1 Q.41 2

37 | 37
JEE/NEET
EXERCISE – 3 AIIMS Special Questions
Instructions for Q.No. 1 to 10
In the following questions (1 to 10), a statement of assertion (A) is followed by a statement of reason
(R).
(1) If both Assertion & Reason are true and the reason is the correct explanation of the assertion, then
mark (1).
(2) If both Assertion & Reason are true but the reason is not the correct explanation of the assertion,
then mark (2).
(3) If Assertion is true statement but Reason is false, then mark (3).
(4) If both Assertion and Reason are false statements, then mark (4).
Q.1 A : De Candolle introduced the term taxonomy.
R : He proposed plants classification in his book "Theorie Elementaire de la Botanique”.
Q.2 A : Species is a genetically closed system.
R : Because the reproductive isolation constitutes the most important boundary between different
species.
Q.3 A : Scientific names have been standarized through ICBN.
R : First international botanical congress was held in Paris in 1967.
Q.4 A : Dried specimens are poisoned by HgCl2.
R : It prevents the specimen from the moisture.
Q.5 A : Members of a species are reproductively isolated from others belonging to other species.
R : Species is the basic taxonomic category.
Q.6 A : A group of closely related families form an order.
R : The families of an order show close resemblance in certain fundamental features and also
inevolutionary trends.
Q.7 A : Biological concept of species is based on reproductive isolation.
R : Tigon is interspecific sterile hybrid produced in captive condition.
Q.8 A : Synonyms are concerned with most important of all rules of ICBN.
R : Out of the two or more scientific names given to the organism, the oldest name is recognized as
valid name and other names as synonyms.
Q.9 A : Arboretum is ex-situ conservation strategy of plants.
R : It is a special kind of garden with main collection of herbs and shrubs.
Q.10 A : Two plants A and B are treated as two taxonomic species.
R : Both A and B are different in correlated characters.
Answer Key
Q.1 2 Q.2 1 Q.3 3 Q.4 3 Q.5 2 Q.6 1 Q.7 3
Q.8 1 Q.9 3 Q.10 1

THE LIVING WORLD Detailed.pdf

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to THE LIVING WORLD Detailed.pdf

Similar to THE LIVING WORLD Detailed.pdf (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

THE LIVING WORLD Detailed.pdf