1
The main reason for classifying organisms is —
💡 Hint:
Time is short and organisms are many.
Explanation:
Similarities make a group, and the whole group is studied together.
Class 9 · Science · Chapter 7 · बिहार बोर्ड (BSEB)CBSE · NCERT 2026-27
Diversity in Living Organisms
Diversity in Living Organisms
How to use this page:
1. Read — 7.1 cows · 7.2 seeds · 7.3 languages · 7.4 scientific names, diagram, worked example, board tip
2. Check — each lesson has its own questions; the number follows the lesson
3. Mastery ★ — all of that lesson correct. Redo the wrong ones
4. Use the ladder figure from kingdom down to species — more organisms sit at the top, and the species shares the most characters.
In the Bihar book this is chapter 7; in the NCERT 2026-27 Exploration book diversity is chapter 12 and the hierarchy names differ, so these notes follow this Bihar book. Progress stays in this browser.
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- 1 Diversity and the need to classify — Activity 7.1
- 2 The basis of classification — the cell comes first
- 3 Classification and evolution
- 4 The five kingdoms and the ladder of the hierarchy
- 5 Plantae — Thallophyta to angiosperms — Activity 7.2
- 6 Animalia — Porifera to Protochordata
- 7 Vertebrata and binomial names — Activities 7.3 and 7.4
- Chapter winner — every lesson at mastery ★
🎬 Shorts
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📄 PDF download — notes + answer key
Diversity and the need to classify — Activity 7.1
विविधता और वर्गीकरण की जरूरत — क्रियाकलाप 7.1 · Bihar chapter 7 · Activity 7.1
Too many organisms to study one by oneNotes
Compare your height, nose and hand-span with a friend and a small difference shows up. Add a monkey and humans match each other more. Add a cow and the monkey is closer to us than to the cow.
The spread of life is huge. Some bacteria are a few micrometres long. A blue whale is about 30 metres and a Californian redwood about 100 metres. Some pines live for thousands of years, while a mosquito dies in a few days. This diversity grew over millions of years. We do not have time to look at every organism alone, so we choose similarities and make groups.
Activity 7.1 — a desi cow and a Jersey cowActivity
Does a desi cow look like a Jersey cow? Do all desi cows look alike? In a crowd of desi cows that do not match one another, can you still pick out a Jersey cow? What is the basis of that identification?
You have to decide which character matters more for the group you want, and which character can be ignored. A small difference of colour or horn does not change the species. Stable characters of milk, body design and breed do the work of identification.
Worked exampleExample
Question: Write one advantage of classification.
Answer: Similar organisms come into one group, so each organism need not be memorised alone. A character of the group applies to the whole group, and a new organism is easier to place.
10-second revision
- Classification rests on similarities, not on every single organism
- For a desi and a Jersey cow you must choose the important character
- A blue whale is about 30 m, a redwood about 100 m
Board tip · BSEBBoard tip
If the question asks for advantages, write three points: study is easier, a group character covers all, a new organism gets a place.
Board tip · CBSEBoard tip
In an example give diversity of size, of lifespan and of colour. Do not write only animals.
Check your understandingall correct = mastery ★
2
To pick a Jersey cow from a crowd of desi cows, some characters have to be ignored.
Explanation:
True — Activity 7.1 chooses the important characters and leaves the rest.
3
The length of a blue whale is given as about ______ metres.
💡 Hint:
The redwood figure is 100.
Explanation:
About 30 metres. A redwood is about 100 metres.
4
A comparison of a mosquito and a pine tree mainly shows —
💡 Hint:
One lives a few days, the other thousands of years.
Explanation:
This is a spread of lifespan. Size is the bacterium and the whale.
5
Write three examples of diversity around you, from size, lifespan and colour.
Model answer (board format)
Size: a bacterium is tiny and a blue whale is about 30 metres. Lifespan: a mosquito lives a few days, some pines for thousands of years. Colour: from colourless worms to bright birds and flowers.
Check your answer:
The basis of classification — the cell comes first
वर्गीकरण का आधार — कोशिका पहले · Section 7.1 · the ladder of characters
Habitat alone is not the basisNotes
Aristotle grouped animals by land, water and air. That is simple, and it misleads. Corals, whales, octopuses, starfish and sharks share the sea, but their designs differ. Habitat is the only point they share.
A characteristic is a form or a function. Five fingers on a hand is one. That we can run and a banyan cannot is another. The stones at the bottom of a wall decide the rows above. In the same way the most basic character makes the broadest groups. The next character depends on the previous one.
Today classification starts from the cell. A eukaryotic cell has membrane-bound organelles and a nucleus. An organism without a clear nucleus organises its chemistry differently. Next we ask whether the cell lives alone or in a group with division of labour. That is why an Amoeba and a worm differ. Then comes making one’s own food or taking it from outside. Body organisation in plants and organ development in animals come after that. A character such as a skeleton makes sub-groups, not the broad groups.
Worked exampleExample
Question: Which is more basic, the place where an organism lives or the kind of cell? Give one reason.
Answer: The kind of cell is more basic. A shark and a coral share the sea, but the cell and the body design differ. Having or not having a nucleus changes every later character. Habitat does not.
10-second revision
- Aristotle’s land-water-air split is misleading
- The most basic character makes the broadest group
- The first split of plants and animals is making food or taking it
Board tip · BSEBBoard tip
In a long answer write the order: nucleus, one cell or many, nutrition, then plant organisation or animal organs.
Board tip · CBSEBoard tip
Do not write the skeleton as the first basis. The book treats it as a character of a sub-group.
Check your understandingall correct = mastery ★
1
The more basic character for classification is —
💡 Hint:
Remember the sea example.
Explanation:
The kind of cell is more basic. Habitat lumps very different organisms into one place.
2
It is right to put a shark and a coral in one group because both live in the sea.
Explanation:
False — apart from habitat they are very different. This is the mistake in Aristotle’s way.
3
The first broad division of organisms is mainly based on —
💡 Hint:
The skeleton is a later character.
Explanation:
The first division is on the nature of the cell. A skeleton makes a sub-group.
4
Why are plants and animals placed in different categories? Write one reason.
Model answer (board format)
Plants make their own food by photosynthesis and animals take food from outside. That need makes the basic body design different, so the later characters also differ.
Check your answer:
Classification and evolution
वर्गीकरण और विकास · Section 7.2 · older and younger body designs
A character that came earlier is more basicNotes
Organisms are identified by body design in form and function. Some characters change the body more widely than others. Time matters too. Once a design exists, later changes rest on it. So a character that came earlier is more basic than one that came later.
Evolution means an accumulation of changes in body design that help the organism survive better. Charles Darwin set out this idea in 1859 in The Origin of Species. Classification then links to evolution. Some groups keep an old design that has not changed much. Others gained their design relatively recently.
An old design is often called primitive or lower, and a recent design advanced or higher. The book says these words do not fit well. The safer statement is that some organisms are older and some are younger. Complexity can increase with time, so older organisms are often simpler and younger ones often more complex. Being advanced is not the definition of being complex, but the two often go together.
Worked exampleExample
Question: Why are the words primitive and advanced incomplete?
Answer: They suggest a higher and a lower value. According to the book the difference is one of time: some body designs are older and some are younger. Complexity may increase with time, but primitive does not mean useless.
Biodiversity — an extra point
Biodiversity is the diversity of life forms in a region. These forms affect one another and make a stable community. In recent times humans have changed that balance. Land, water and climate also affect the diversity.
A rough estimate is about ten million species on the planet, though we actually know only about one or two million of them. The warm humid tropics between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn are the region of megadiversity. More than half of the planet’s diversity is concentrated in a few countries, and India is one of them: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Zaire, Madagascar, Australia, China, India, Indonesia and Malaysia.
10-second revision
- A character that appeared earlier is more basic
- Darwin, 1859, The Origin of Species
- Older and younger is safer than primitive and advanced
Board tip · BSEBBoard tip
In the Darwin answer keep both the year 1859 and the name of the book.
Board tip · CBSEBoard tip
Do not forget India in megadiversity. The estimate is about ten million species, with about one or two million known.
Check your understandingall correct = mastery ★
1
In which year did Darwin publish the idea of evolution?
💡 Hint:
The book is The Origin of Species.
Explanation:
1859. 1959 is Whittaker’s year and 1894 is Haeckel’s.
2
A character that appeared later is usually treated as more basic.
Explanation:
False — the earlier character is more basic because later changes rest on it.
3
About the words primitive and advanced, the book says that —
💡 Hint:
Complexity can increase with time.
Explanation:
The words are incomplete. Say that some organisms are older and some are younger.
4
We know only about ______ species. The estimate is about ten million.
💡 Hint:
The book says one or two million.
Explanation:
About one or two million.
5
India is counted among the megadiverse countries.
Explanation:
True — India is on that list, along with the tropics between Cancer and Capricorn.
6
Are advanced organisms the same as complex organisms? Write two lines according to the book.
Model answer (board format)
They are not exactly one definition. Advanced is a loose word for a newer body design. Complexity can increase with time, so younger organisms are often more complex.
Check your answer:
The five kingdoms and the ladder of the hierarchy
पाँच जगत और पदानुक्रम की सीढ़ी · Section 7.3 · Whittaker
Whittaker’s five kingdomsNotes
Ernst Haeckel (1894), Robert Whittaker (1959) and Carl Woese (1977) placed organisms in broad groups called kingdoms. Whittaker’s five kingdoms are widely used: Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia. The basis is cell structure, the mode and source of nutrition, and body organisation. Woese divided Monera into Archaebacteria (Archaea) and Eubacteria. Questions in this book stay with the five kingdoms.
Monera: no defined nucleus or organelles, and no multicellular body. Some have a cell wall and some do not. Nutrition is autotrophic or heterotrophic. Examples are bacteria, blue-green algae or cyanobacteria, and mycoplasma.
Protista: unicellular eukaryotes. Some move with cilia or flagella. Nutrition is autotrophic or heterotrophic. Examples are unicellular algae, diatoms and protozoans — Amoeba, Paramecium, Euglena.
Fungi: heterotrophic eukaryotes. They feed on decaying organic matter, so they are saprophytes. The cell wall is of chitin. Yeast and mushrooms are examples. Some fungi live in a permanent mutual link with blue-green algae. That is symbiosis, and these forms are lichens.
Plantae: multicellular eukaryotes with cell walls, autotrophs using chlorophyll. Animalia: multicellular eukaryotes without cell walls, heterotrophs.
The seven rungs of the ladder
After the kingdom comes the phylum for animals and the division for plants, then class, order, family, genus and species. At each step the group gets smaller and the shared characters increase. A species is the basic unit of classification. Broadly, a species includes organisms similar enough to breed and continue.
The species has the fewest organisms and the most shared characters. The kingdom has the most organisms. Place a unicellular, eukaryotic, photosynthetic organism in Protista, not in Plantae, because Plantae are multicellular. Blue-green algae belong to Monera even if they look like algae.
Worked exampleExample
Question: An organism is unicellular, eukaryotic and photosynthetic. Which kingdom is it?
Answer: Protista. Monera does not have a eukaryotic cell. Plantae are multicellular. An organism such as Euglena is the example of this kingdom.
10-second revision
- Five kingdoms: Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, Animalia
- Fungal wall is chitin, nutrition saprophytic; a lichen is symbiotic
- The species is the smallest unit and asks for similarity up to breeding
Board tip · BSEBBoard tip
Write the Monera–Protista difference in one word pair: prokaryotic and eukaryotic. Both include unicellular organisms.
Board tip · CBSEBoard tip
Do not write Euglena as a plant. A unicellular eukaryotic photosynthetic organism is Protista.
Check your understandingall correct = mastery ★
1
Whittaker’s classification divides organisms into —
💡 Hint:
The 1959 classification.
Explanation:
Five: Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia.
2
A defined nucleus is absent in —
💡 Hint:
Bacteria are in this kingdom.
Explanation:
Monera have neither a defined nucleus nor a multicellular body.
3
The cell wall of fungi is made of a complex sugar called ______.
💡 Hint:
Mushroom and yeast.
Explanation:
Chitin. The nutrition is saprophytic.
4
A lichen is a kingdom of its own.
Explanation:
False — a lichen is a symbiotic form of a fungus and a blue-green alga.
5
Name the smallest and the largest group in the hierarchy. Write one mark of a species.
Model answer (board format)
The smallest group is the species and the largest is the kingdom. Organisms of one species are similar enough to breed and continue the next generation. The species has the most characters in common.
Check your answer:
Plantae — Thallophyta to angiosperms — Activity 7.2
प्लांटी — थैलोफाइटा से एंजियोस्पर्म — क्रियाकलाप 7.2 · Section 7.4 · Activity 7.2
Five plant groups, with rising complexityNotes
The first level: is the body divided into distinct parts? Next: is there tissue that carries water and other substances? Then: are there seeds, and are the seeds inside a fruit?
Thallophyta: the body is not divided into distinct organs. These are the algae, and they are mostly aquatic. Examples are Spirogyra, Ulothrix, Cladophora and Chara. This is the simplest plant division.
Bryophyta: the amphibians of the plant kingdom. Stem-like and leaf-like parts form, but there is no specialised tissue for carrying water. Examples are the moss Funaria, Marchantia and Riccia.
Pteridophyta: root, stem and leaf, plus vascular tissue. Examples are Marsilea, ferns and horsetails. The embryos of these three groups are naked spores and the reproductive organs are hidden, so they are called cryptogams.
Plants whose differentiated reproductive tissue makes seeds are phanerogams. A seed has the embryo and stored food. Gymnosperms: gymno means naked and sperma means seed. Naked seeds, usually perennial, evergreen and woody. Examples are pines, deodar and Cycas. Angiosperms: angio means covered. Seeds form inside a fruit. These are the flowering plants. One cotyledon means a monocot, two mean a dicot.
Activity 7.2 — soak the seeds and try to split themActivity
Soak seeds of green gram, wheat, maize, peas and tamarind. When they are tender, try to split them. Seeds that break into two nearly equal halves are dicots. Seeds that do not are monocots. Wheat and maize stay monocots. Green gram, pea and tamarind are dicots.
Then look at the root, the leaf and the flower. Is the root a tap root or fibrous? Is the venation net-like or parallel? How many petals are in the flower? Dicots usually show a tap root and reticulate venation, monocots a fibrous root and parallel veins. Write any further characters you actually see. Do not treat blue-green algae as the algae of this activity. They are Monera.
Worked exampleExample
Question: Write one difference between pteridophytes and phanerogams. Write one difference between gymnosperms and angiosperms.
Answer: Pteridophytes grow from spores and the reproductive organs are hidden. Phanerogams make seeds. A gymnosperm seed is naked, as in a pine. An angiosperm seed forms inside a fruit.
10-second revision
- Cryptogams: Thallophyta, Bryophyta, Pteridophyta
- Gymnosperms have naked seeds; angiosperms have seeds inside a fruit
- A split into two equal halves = dicot; wheat and maize are monocots
Board tip · BSEBBoard tip
In a plant answer do not drop the order of the basis: body division, vascular tissue, seed, then fruit.
Board tip · CBSEBoard tip
Bryophytes are called amphibians because they need damp places, since there is no vascular tissue.
Check your understandingall correct = mastery ★
1
The simplest plant division is —
💡 Hint:
The body is not divided into organs.
Explanation:
Thallophyta. Algae such as Spirogyra are in this division.
2
Bryophytes have specialised tissue for carrying water.
Explanation:
False — stem-like and leaf-like parts may form, but not vascular tissue. That arrives in the pteridophytes.
3
Plants with naked seeds are called ______.
💡 Hint:
Pine and deodar.
Explanation:
Gymnosperms. In angiosperms the seed is inside a fruit.
4
In Activity 7.2 the wheat seed —
💡 Hint:
Maize is on the same side. Pea is on the other.
Explanation:
Wheat and maize are monocots. Pea, green gram and tamarind are dicots.
Animalia — Porifera to Protochordata
एनिमेलिया — पोरिफेरा से प्रोटोकॉर्डेटा · Sections 7.5.1 to 7.5.9
Body design increases step by stepNotes
The organisms of Animalia are eukaryotic, multicellular and heterotrophic. The cells have no cell wall. Most of them move. The book divides them into ten groups. The last group, Vertebrata, is in the next lesson.
| Group | The mark | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Porifera | Pores, canal system, little tissue | Sponge, Sycon |
| Coelenterata | Two layers, a cavity, stinging cells | Hydra, jellyfish |
| Platyhelminthes | Flat, triploblastic, no true coelom | Planaria, liver fluke |
| Nematoda | Cylindrical, a pseudocoelom | Ascaris, Wuchereria |
| Annelida | A true coelom, segments | Earthworm, leech |
| Arthropoda | Jointed legs, open circulation | Prawn, housefly, spider |
| Mollusca | Reduced coelom, a muscular foot | Snail, mussel |
| Echinodermata | Spiny skin, a water system | Starfish, sea urchin |
| Protochordata | A notochord at some stage | Balanoglossus |
Do not mix up the coelom and the symmetry
Poriferans stay fixed to a support. The pores open into a canal system that circulates water with food and oxygen. There is a hard outer layer or skeleton. Division into tissues is minimal. Sycon, Euplectella and Spongilla are examples.
Coelenterata are also called Cnidaria. The body has two cell layers. Some live in colonies, such as corals. Hydra lives alone. Jellyfish and sea anemones are common examples.
Platyhelminthes are bilateral: the left and right halves match. Three layers can make tissues, so they are triploblastic. There is no true coelom and the body is flattened from top to bottom. Nematodes are also triploblastic and bilateral, but the body is cylindrical and there is a pseudocoelom. Wuchereria is the filarial worm linked with elephantiasis.
In annelids a true coelom lets organs be packaged, and the segments line up from head to tail. Arthropoda is probably the largest animal group. Open circulation means the blood does not flow in well-defined vessels. In molluscs the coelom is reduced and a foot is used for moving. Echinoderms are exclusively marine. A water-driven tube system and a calcium carbonate skeleton are their marks. Protochordates have a notochord at least at some stage of life. It is a rod along the back that separates the nervous tissue from the gut. Examples are Balanoglossus, Herdmania and Amphioxus. The notochord need not be present all the time or along the whole length.
Worked exampleExample
Question: Write two differences between Porifera and Coelenterata. Write one difference between Annelida and Arthropoda.
Answer: Porifera have pores and a canal system, and very little tissue. Coelenterata have a body cavity and two cell layers, and an animal such as Hydra has a more formed body. Annelids have a segmented body and a true coelom. Arthropods have jointed legs and an open circulation.
10-second revision
- Porifera: pores; Coelenterata: two layers and a cavity
- No true coelom in flatworms; a pseudocoelom in roundworms; a true coelom in the earthworm
- Arthropoda is the largest group, marked by jointed legs
Board tip · BSEBBoard tip
Keep the three coelom answers apart: none in Platyhelminthes, a pseudo-coelom in Nematoda, a true one in Annelida.
Board tip · CBSEBoard tip
Write echinoderms as marine. Both the water system and the spiny skin are expected marks.
Check your understandingall correct = mastery ★
1
Pores and a canal system are the mark of which group?
💡 Hint:
The name means organisms with holes.
Explanation:
Porifera. Sponges, Sycon, Euplectella.
2
Platyhelminthes have a true coelom for well-developed organs.
Explanation:
False — there is no true coelom. The body is flat. A true coelom is in the annelids.
3
The worm linked with elephantiasis belongs to —
💡 Hint:
Wuchereria.
Explanation:
Nematoda. Wuchereria is the filarial worm. Ascaris is in the same group.
4
Animals with jointed legs belong to the group ______.
💡 Hint:
The largest animal group.
Explanation:
Arthropoda. The circulation is open.
5
Starfish are common both in fresh water and on land.
Explanation:
False — echinoderms are exclusively free-living marine animals.
6
What is a notochord? Give one example of a protochordate.
Model answer (board format)
The notochord is a rod-like support along the back that separates the nervous tissue from the gut. In protochordates it is present at least at some stage. An example is Balanoglossus.
Check your answer:
Vertebrata and binomial names — Activities 7.3 and 7.4
वर्टीब्रेटा और द्विनाम पद्धति — क्रियाकलाप 7.3 और 7.4 · Sections 7.5.10 and 7.6 · Activities 7.3, 7.4
Five classes: fishes to mammalsNotes
Vertebrata have a true vertebral column and an internal skeleton. All chordates have a notochord, a dorsal nerve cord, a triploblastic body, paired gill pouches and a coelom. There are five classes.
| Class | Skin and breathing | Heart |
|---|---|---|
| Pisces | Scales, gills | Two chambers, cold-blooded |
| Amphibia | No scales, mucus; gills or lungs | Three chambers |
| Reptilia | Scales, lungs | Usually three; four in a crocodile |
| Aves | Feathers, lungs, forelimbs for flight | Four chambers, warm-blooded |
| Mammalia | Hair, mammary glands | Four chambers, warm-blooded |
Do not leave the egg and the young one half-said
Fish are exclusively aquatic. A shark skeleton is cartilage, while rohu or tuna has both bone and cartilage. Amphibians occur both in water and on land. Frogs, toads and salamanders are examples. They lay eggs. Reptile eggs have a tough cover and need not be laid in water. Snakes, turtles, lizards and crocodiles are in this class.
Birds lay eggs. Mammals feed the young with milk. Most give birth to live young. The platypus and the echidna lay eggs. A kangaroo gives birth to a very poorly developed young one.
Activities 7.3 and 7.4 — the name problem and scientific namesActivity
Activity 7.3: write the names of a tiger, a peacock, an ant, neem, a lotus and a potato in as many languages as you can. A person using another language may not know that the same organism is meant. So the world agreed on one scientific name, in the same way as chemical symbols.
Carolus Linnaeus gave this system in the eighteenth century. The whole hierarchy is not written in the name. Only the genus and the species are written, in Latin forms. Rules: genus with a capital, species with a small letter, italics in print, and by hand underline the two separately. Examples: Homo sapiens, Mangifera indica, Panthera tigris.
Activity 7.4: find the scientific names of any five common animals and plants. See whether these names match the words you use every day. They usually do not, because a local name changes from place to place and the scientific name does not.
Worked exampleExample
Question: How would you write Homo sapiens by hand? Write two differences between birds and mammals.
Answer: Underline Homo and sapiens with separate lines. H is capital and s is small. Birds have feathers and they lay eggs. Mammals have hair and mammary glands, and most give birth to live young. Both are warm-blooded and have a four-chambered heart, so those points are not differences.
10-second revision
- A fish heart has two chambers; a frog three; a crocodile four
- Birds lay eggs; most mammals bear live young and feed milk
- Binomial = genus + species; by hand underline both separately
Board tip · BSEBBoard tip
For Amphibia and Reptilia write where the egg is laid: a frog needs water, a reptile egg has a tough cover.
Board tip · CBSEBoard tip
Do not write the whole kingdom-phylum-class in a scientific name. Only two words. Italics, or separate underlining, must be stated.
Check your understandingall correct = mastery ★
1
A crocodile heart is different because —
💡 Hint:
The other reptiles have three chambers.
Explanation:
Most reptiles have a three-chambered heart. A crocodile has four chambers.
2
All mammals give birth to live young, and none lays an egg.
Explanation:
False — the platypus and the echidna lay eggs. A kangaroo gives birth to a very poorly developed young one.
3
The first word of a scientific name is the ______ and it starts with a capital letter.
💡 Hint:
The second word is the species.
Explanation:
The genus. The species starts with a small letter.
4
In Activity 7.3 many names for one organism are a problem because —
💡 Hint:
Tiger, peacock, neem, potato.
Explanation:
Local names change with the language. The scientific name stays one.
5
Write three differences between Amphibia and Reptilia.
Model answer (board format)
Amphibian skin has no scales and has mucus glands. Reptiles have scales. A frog heart has three chambers. Most reptiles also have three, but a crocodile has four. Amphibians lay eggs in connection with water. Reptile eggs have a tough cover and need not be laid in water.
Check your answer:
❓ Full question bank — with answers and explanations — 67 questions
Pick a type. The 35 lesson checks are separate — each lesson has as many as its topic needs. All correct earns mastery ★.
BSEB modelpractice · not annual60 tried · 0 correctMultiple choiceMCQ140 tried · 0 correctTrue / falseTrue / false80 tried · 0 correctFill in the blanksFill80 tried · 0 correctMatchMatch20 tried · 0 correctAssertion–reasonAssertion–reason50 tried · 0 correctBalancingBalancing40 tried · 0 correctIdentifyIdentify20 tried · 0 correctShort and longVSA, SA, LA120 tried · 0 correctCBSE-stylenot a PYQ60 tried · 0 correct
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Multiple choice
0/14Pick one option. A wrong try brings a hint.
1
Aristotle classified animals by —
💡 Hint:
It is simple, and it misleads.
Explanation:
Land, water and air. Sea animals look like one group on this basis, and they are not.
2
The basic unit of classification is —
💡 Hint:
The lowest rung of the ladder.
Explanation:
The species. The similarity reaches breeding.
3
Blue-green algae are placed in —
💡 Hint:
Cyanobacteria.
Explanation:
Monera. Spirogyra is Thallophyta, blue-green algae are not.
4
A cell wall of chitin is found in —
💡 Hint:
Yeast and mushroom.
Explanation:
Fungi. They are saprophytes.
5
The amphibians of the plant kingdom are —
💡 Hint:
There is no vascular tissue.
Explanation:
Bryophyta. Funaria and Marchantia.
6
A fern belongs to which group?
💡 Hint:
Vascular tissue and spores.
Explanation:
Pteridophyta. Marsilea and horsetails too.
7
In Activity 7.2 a dicot seed is recognised by —
💡 Hint:
A pea splits, wheat does not.
Explanation:
Two nearly equal halves. A monocot does not split that way.
8
The largest animal group is usually —
💡 Hint:
Jointed legs.
Explanation:
Arthropoda. Prawn, butterfly, housefly, spider, scorpion, crab.
9
The heart of a rohu has —
💡 Hint:
Fish are cold-blooded.
Explanation:
Two chambers. A frog has three. Birds and mammals have four.
10
Mammary glands are the mark of which class?
💡 Hint:
Hair is also present.
Explanation:
Mammalia. Most give birth to live young.
11
In a scientific name written by hand —
💡 Hint:
Italics in print.
Explanation:
Genus and species underlined separately. Genus capital, species small.
12
The kingdom of a unicellular eukaryotic organism is —
💡 Hint:
Amoeba is in this kingdom.
Explanation:
Protista. Monera has no defined nucleus.
13
Not included among the cryptogams is —
💡 Hint:
Seed and fruit plants are phanerogams.
Explanation:
Angiosperms. The cryptogams are three, and they have spores.
14
An open circulation is found in —
💡 Hint:
Blood does not flow in well-defined vessels.
Explanation:
Arthropoda. Molluscs also have an open circulation.
True or false
0/81
All animals that live in the sea are one natural group.
Explanation:
False — corals, whales, octopuses, starfish and sharks share only the habitat.
2
Monera do not have a multicellular body design.
Explanation:
True — no defined nucleus and no multicellular body.
3
Fungi are autotrophs.
Explanation:
False — they are saprophytic heterotrophs. Autotrophic plants make food with chlorophyll.
4
Pteridophytes have root, stem, leaf and vascular tissue.
Explanation:
True — ferns, Marsilea, horsetails.
5
Gymnosperm seeds are enclosed inside a fruit.
Explanation:
False — the seed is naked. A seed inside a fruit is the angiosperm character.
6
The annelid body is divided into segments.
Explanation:
True — earthworm and leech. There is also a true coelom.
7
Aves are cold-blooded.
Explanation:
False — birds are warm-blooded and the heart has four chambers.
8
A printed scientific name is given in italics.
Explanation:
True — by hand the genus and the species are underlined separately.
Fill in the blanks
0/81
The five-kingdom classification was proposed by ______ in 1959.
💡 Hint:
Whittaker.
Explanation:
Haeckel 1894, Woese 1977.
2
Saprophytic nutrition is a mark of the kingdom ______.
💡 Hint:
Fungi.
Explanation:
Remember chitin too.
3
Funaria is a ______.
💡 Hint:
A bryophyte, or a moss.
Explanation:
No vascular tissue.
4
A pine is an example of the group ______.
💡 Hint:
Gymnosperms.
Explanation:
The seed is naked.
5
An earthworm is an animal of the group ______.
💡 Hint:
Annelida.
Explanation:
Segments and a true coelom.
6
The skeleton of a shark is made of ______.
💡 Hint:
Cartilage.
Explanation:
Rohu also has bone.
7
The binomial system was given by ______.
💡 Hint:
Linnaeus.
Explanation:
The eighteenth century.
8
Spirogyra is in the division ______.
💡 Hint:
Thallophyta.
Explanation:
An alga.
Match
0/21
Match the plant group with its character.
Column B: A. Naked seed · B. Body not divided into organs · C. No vascular tissue · D. Vascular tissue and spores
1. Thallophyta
2. Bryophyta
3. Pteridophyta
4. Gymnosperm
Explanation:
Thallophyta undivided, Bryophyta without vascular tissue, pteridophytes with spores and vascular tissue, gymnosperms with naked seeds.
2
Match the animal group with an example.
Column B: A. Ascaris · B. Bat · C. Sponge · D. Housefly
1. Porifera
2. Nematoda
3. Arthropoda
4. Mammalia
Explanation:
A sponge is Porifera, Ascaris is Nematoda, a housefly is Arthropoda, a bat is a mammal.
Assertion–reason
0/5Check both statements, then see whether the reason explains the assertion.
1
Assertion (A): Classification of organisms is needed.
Reason (R): A group made from similarities can be studied together.
Explanation:
Both are true and R explains A.
2
Assertion (A): Monera have no defined nucleus.
Reason (R): Whittaker proposed five kingdoms.
Explanation:
Both are true, but R does not explain the point about the nucleus.
3
Assertion (A): Gymnosperm seeds are naked.
Reason (R): Their seeds are enclosed inside a fruit.
Explanation:
A is true. R is false — a seed inside a fruit is in the angiosperms.
4
Assertion (A): Every mammal lays eggs.
Reason (R): The platypus and the echidna are egg-laying mammals.
Explanation:
A is false because most mammals bear live young. R is true.
5
Assertion (A): A species has fewer organisms than a kingdom.
Reason (R): At each next level the group gets smaller and the shared characters increase.
Explanation:
Both are true and R explains A.
Balance the equation
0/4This chapter has no chemical equation. Below is only coefficient practice on H2 + O2 → H2O.
1
This is coefficient practice, not a result of this chapter. The chapter teaches groups of organisms and has no chemical equation. Balance H2 + O2 → H2O (a blank means 1).
H2 + O2 → H2O
Explanation: 2H2 + O2 → 2H2O
2
Again coefficient practice, not an equation from the diversity lesson. The coefficient of oxygen is 1, so do not drop it. Balance H2 + O2 → H2O (a blank means 1).
H2 + O2 → H2O
Explanation: 2H2 + O2 → 2H2O
3
A student treated H2 + O2 → H2O as balanced with 1, 1, 1. This is not a result of this chapter, only a counting exercise. Fill the correct coefficients (a blank means 1).
H2 + O2 → H2O
Explanation: 2H2 + O2 → 2H2O
4
Coefficient practice before a test. This equation is not connected to the ladder of organisms. Balance H2 + O2 → H2O (a blank means 1).
H2 + O2 → H2O
Explanation: 2H2 + O2 → 2H2O
Classify
0/21
Place each organism in Whittaker’s kingdom.
A bacterium
Amoeba
A mushroom
A fern
Explanation:
A bacterium is Monera, Amoeba is Protista, a mushroom is Fungi, a fern is a pteridophyte in Plantae.
2
Using Activity 7.2, mark each seed as monocot or dicot.
Wheat
Pea
Maize
Green gram
Explanation:
Wheat and maize do not split. Pea and green gram split into two halves.
Very short answer
0/51
Define a species in one line.
Model answer (board format)
A species is a group of organisms similar enough to breed and continue the next generation.
Check your answer:
2
Why is habitat not taken as the only basis of classification?
Model answer (board format)
Very different organisms live in one place. In the sea a coral and a shark share only the water, not the body design.
Check your answer:
3
Write the names of Whittaker’s five kingdoms.
Model answer (board format)
Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia.
Check your answer:
4
What is binomial nomenclature?
Model answer (board format)
The scientific name of an organism has two words, the genus and the species. This is Linnaeus’s system and it stays the same across the world.
Check your answer:
5
Write one difference between Porifera and Coelenterata.
Model answer (board format)
Porifera have pores all over the body and a canal system, and very little tissue. Coelenterata have two cell layers and a body cavity.
Check your answer:
Short answer
0/41
On what basis are the five kingdoms formed? Write one word for each basis.
Model answer (board format)
There are three bases: cell structure, the mode and source of nutrition, and body organisation. These separate the groups from Monera to Animalia.
Check your answer:
2
Write the difference between cryptogams and phanerogams with examples.
Model answer (board format)
In cryptogams the reproductive organs are hidden and the embryo is a spore. Thallophyta, Bryophyta and Pteridophyta are in this set. Phanerogams make seeds. In gymnosperms the seed is naked and in angiosperms it is inside a fruit.
Check your answer:
3
Write two differences between Amphibia and Reptilia.
Model answer (board format)
Amphibian skin has no scales and has mucus. Reptiles have scales. Amphibian eggs are tied to water. Reptile eggs have a tough cover.
Check your answer:
4
Write the four conventions for writing a scientific name.
Model answer (board format)
The genus starts with a capital letter. The species starts with a small letter. In print the name is in italics. By hand the genus and the species are underlined separately.
Check your answer:
Long answer
0/31
Write the major divisions of Plantae and give the basis of each division in one line.
Model answer (board format)
Thallophyta: the body is not divided into organs, such as Spirogyra. Bryophyta: stem-like and leaf-like parts, no vascular tissue, such as Funaria. Pteridophyta: root, stem, leaf and vascular tissue, spores, such as a fern. Gymnosperms: naked seeds, such as a pine. Angiosperms: seeds inside a fruit, one or two cotyledons. The first three are cryptogams and the last two are phanerogams.
Check your answer:
2
Separate the five classes of Vertebrata on skin, heart and reproduction.
Model answer (board format)
Pisces: scales, gills, two chambers, eggs, only water. Amphibia: no scales, three chambers, eggs in water, such as a frog. Reptilia: scales, usually three chambers, four in a crocodile, tough eggs. Aves: feathers, four chambers, warm-blooded, eggs. Mammalia: hair and mammary glands, four chambers, warm-blooded, usually live young; the platypus and the echidna lay eggs.
Check your answer:
3
Write the ladder from kingdom to species. Say why a character that appeared earlier is treated as more basic. Write the scientific name of a human with the rules.
Model answer (board format)
The order is kingdom, phylum or division, class, order, family, genus, species. The group gets smaller as you go down. A body design that appeared earlier becomes the base of every later change, so it is more basic. The human name is Homo sapiens. Homo is the genus and starts with a capital. sapiens is the species and starts with a small letter. Italics in print, and by hand the two words are underlined separately.
Check your answer:
BSEB model paper · practice
0/6This model set is for practice. It is not a question from any year’s annual examination. Annual questions will be added only when a source page is available.
1
While identifying a desi cow and a Jersey cow we —
💡 Hint:
Activity 7.1.
Explanation:
We choose the important characters. Some characters are left out of the identification.
2
Euglena will be placed in —
💡 Hint:
Unicellular eukaryote.
Explanation:
Protista.
3
In plant classification ______ is written in place of the animal phylum.
💡 Hint:
Division.
Explanation:
The second rung of the ladder.
4
Separate Annelida, Nematoda and Platyhelminthes on the coelom.
Model answer (board format)
Platyhelminthes have no true coelom and the body is flat. Nematoda have a pseudocoelom and the body is cylindrical. Annelida have a true coelom and segments.
Check your answer:
5
The model practice asks for coefficients separately. This is not an equation of diversity. Balance H2 + O2 → H2O (a blank means 1).
H2 + O2 → H2O
Explanation: 2H2 + O2 → 2H2O
6
Write two advantages of classification. Then say why plant groups ask for a different basis from animal groups. Give one example of each.
Model answer (board format)
Advantages: study becomes easier and a new organism can be placed in a group. Plants make their own food, so the basis is body division, vascular tissue and seeds, as in a fern with vascular tissue. Animals take food from outside, so the basis is the coelom, segments and organs, as in an earthworm with a true coelom. The skeleton is not the first basis.
Check your answer:
CBSE-style questions
0/6These are competency-based practice questions. They are not copies of a CBSE paper.
1
A student places blue-green algae with Spirogyra in Thallophyta. The correct decision is —
💡 Hint:
Cyanobacteria have no defined nucleus.
Explanation:
Blue-green algae are Monera. Spirogyra is Thallophyta.
2
On soaking, a maize seed does not split into two equal halves and the leaf veins are parallel. The seed is —
💡 Hint:
Wheat is on the same side.
Explanation:
A monocot. A pea behaves the other way and is a dicot.
3
Assertion (A): The circulation in Arthropoda is open.
Reason (R): Their blood always flows in closed vessels.
Explanation:
A is true. R is false — in an open circulation the blood does not flow in well-defined vessels.
4
Assertion (A): A local name makes it hard to identify an organism across the world.
Reason (R): The same organism has different names in different languages.
Explanation:
Both are true and R explains A in the sense of Activity 7.3.
5
A museum card says: unicellular, no defined nucleus, some of them autotrophic. A student calls it Protista. Correct the mistake and give one example.
Model answer (board format)
The absence of a defined nucleus is the mark of Monera. Protista are eukaryotic. An example is a bacterium or a blue-green alga. Mycoplasma is also Monera and it has no cell wall.
Check your answer:
6
Two students put a bird and a bat in one class because both fly. Separate them with the characters from the book.
Model answer (board format)
Flight is not the first basis. A bird is Aves: feathers, eggs, a four-chambered heart. A bat is Mammalia: hair, mammary glands, usually a live young one, a four-chambered heart. Both are warm-blooded, but the skin and reproduction differ.
Check your answer:
🏛️ Board exam corner — Bihar Board (BSEB)— CBSE
Switch board with BSEB | CBSE above. The lessons follow the same NCERT chapter.
BSEB model · practiceBoard tip
This page has no verified annual-exam question, because no source page has been added. The model set below is practice in the board pattern.
🏛️ Model questions on one page →
The verified label will be used only when a source page for the question is available.
CBSE-style · competency-based
These are case and assertion-reason practice items. Do not treat them as past CBSE questions.
🔁 Spaced review — today’s questions
Wrong questions return soon; correct ones return after a few days.
🧠 What you learned + equation sheet
What you learned
- Classification rests on similarities. Habitat alone is a misleading basis.
- The cell comes first, then unicellular or multicellular, then nutrition.
- Whittaker’s five kingdoms: Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, Animalia.
- Plants: Thallophyta, Bryophyta, Pteridophyta, gymnosperms, angiosperms.
- Animals run in ten groups from Porifera to Vertebrata; Vertebrata has five classes.
- A binomial name has genus and species. Genus starts with a capital, species with a small letter.
| What | Keep this |
|---|---|
| Five kingdoms | Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, Animalia |
| Hierarchy | Kingdom, Phylum/Division, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species |
| Cryptogams | Thallophyta, Bryophyta, Pteridophyta |
| Naked seed | gymnosperms: pine, deodar, Cycas |
| Ten animal groups | Porifera to Vertebrata |
| Binomial | Genus capital, species small, italics in print |
The notes are original writing. The textbook was used only for activity order and numbers. “Verified” will be used only on a question that has a source page.