In the IBPS PO, SO and SBI exams, the candidate’s knowledge of Basic Biology Awareness is checked. Basic Biology Awareness forms an essential part of the natural science and is thus a proportionate part of the exam. Although it is difficult to cover all of Basic Biology Awareness in one place, we will still try to develop many important biological concepts and see examples and questions that have already made their place in the IBPS papers. Let us see.
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Basic Biology Awareness
In biology, it is convenient to follow a question-answer format of learning. So here we will introduce concepts in the form of questions. But let us first see a few basic concepts.
The Cell
All living organisms are made up of cells. Cells are the basic building blocks of life. A cell is like a small factory that gathers raw materials like food and, water and produces valuable products like protein molecules and energy that keep the normal processes inside a living organism going. We will see a few terms here related to the basic biology:
Metabolism
To keep alive, we have to consume food and water. If we stop, we will die. But why is it so? The answer is metabolism. metabolism is defined as all the chemical processes that occur within a living organism in order to maintain life. The food that we eat is broken down by digestion. It is transported by the bloodstream to the various parts of the body where it is used to make new cells, repair old ones and sustain the ones that are busy doing other functions.
Adaptation
Adaptation is the ability of an organism to adjust to nature and environment. Every cell has inside it the code to produce new cells that are exactly like itself. This code is known as the genetic material or the DNA (Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid). All of the features of a cell and finally of the organism are determined by the genetic makeup of the organism.
Any change in the genetics of an organism changes the features of the organism drastically. Every generation gets a slightly different set of genes and is thus different than its predecessor. This leads to the process of adaptation. In some organisms, other molecules are the genetic materials. This other form of the genetic material is the RNA (Ribose Nucleic Acid).
Prokaryotes & Eukaryotes
All the organisms are of two types. They are either Prokaryotes (e.g. bacteria) or Eukaryotes (e.g. Yourself). The difference in the two types is on the basis of their cell structure.
Some Solved Examples
Example 1: Worms use ……… to breathe:
A) Gills B) Lungs C) Skin D) Mouth
Answer: The skin of the worms is porous to gases. The correct option is thus C) Skin.
Example 2: Following animals are also known as ruminant animals:
A) Bovines B) worms C) Humans D) cats
Answer: Rumination is the chewing of cud that is done by most bovines like cows, buffaloes etc. Hence the correct option here is A) bovines.
Example 3: We humans belong to the ………… kingdom of life.
A) Protista B) Animalia C) Fungi D) Eubacteria
Answer: Humans belong to the Kingdom Animalia. Hence the correct option here is B) animalia.
Example 4: In Osmosis, water flows from a higher concentration to a lower concentration by the phenomenon of:
A) Effusion B) Diffusion C) Illusion D) Dispersion
Answer: The correct answer is B) Diffusion.
Example 5: The process by which plants produce food is known as photosynthesis. This process requires sunlight, carbon dioxide, chlorophyll and ……………..
A) Sodium B) Potassium C) Water D) Oxygen
Answer: The process of Photosynthesis is the change of water and carbon dioxide to glucose in the presence of chlorophyll and sunlight. Hence the correct option is C) water.
Type II
Example 6: The roots of a plant grow towards the ground due to the phenomenon which is known as:
A) tropics B) tropism C) neurotropism D) geotropism
Answer: The roots of plants always grow towards the ground. This phenomenon is known as the geotropism and the correct answer is D)
Example 7: In the plants, there are two types of transport tissues viz: the xylem and the phloem. Out of the two …….. transports the glucose from the leaves to the rest of the plant:
A) Xylem B) Phloem C) Meristem D) Both Xylem an Phloem
Answer: Xylem transports water throughout the plants and Phloem transports glucose. Therefore the answer here is B) Phloem.
Practice Questions
Q 1: Mammals and ……. are homeotherms (they can maintain a constant body temperature).
A) Reptiles B) Fish C) Birds D) Both A) and C)
Ans: C)
Q 2: In the eyes of humans, there are two kinds of cells that are sensitive to light. they are the rods and the cones. There are ………… rods than cones in a normal human being.
A) fewer B) greater number of C) the equal number of D) smaller
Ans: B) greater number of
