Life Processes in Animals MCQs for UPSC Prelims

105 practice questions covering Life Processes in Animals, organised into 3 topics. 105 questions include a written explanation. Pick a topic below, or try the samples first.

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Sample questions

Q1
medium

Air passes from the nose and throat down to the lungs through a tube called the

  1. A gill slit
  2. B windpipe
  3. C spiracle
  4. D food pipe
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: B - windpipe

The windpipe is the air passage that leads from the throat down into the lungs. The food pipe carries swallowed food to the stomach, while spiracles and gill slits are the breathing structures of insects and fish and are not found in human beings.

Q2
hard

Assertion (A): A person's breathing rate rises during heavy exercise. Reason (R): Working muscles need more oxygen so that more energy can be released from food.

  1. A Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A
  2. B Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A
  3. C A is true, but R is false
  4. D A is false, but R is true
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: A - Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A

Both statements are true and the reason explains the assertion. Muscles doing hard work need extra energy, that energy comes from food broken down with oxygen, and the quickest way to bring in more oxygen is to breathe faster and more deeply.

Q3
easy

Why should food be chewed well before it is swallowed?

  1. A it changes the food into water
  2. B it makes salty food taste less salty
  3. C it is broken into small pieces and mixed with saliva, so digestion becomes easier
  4. D it stops the stomach from making any juice
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: C - it is broken into small pieces and mixed with saliva, so digestion becomes easier

Chewing breaks food into small bits and mixes saliva into them, so the digestive juices can act on a far larger surface and the work goes faster. Chewing does not change how salty a food is, the stomach makes its juice in any case, and food is never turned into water.

Q4
medium

Earthworms are often seen crawling on the ground after very heavy rain. The most likely reason is that

  1. A they come out in order to drink the rain water
  2. B they come out to dry their skin completely in the air
  3. C water fills the spaces in the soil, so the worms cannot get enough air there
  4. D the rain washes every worm out of its burrow
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: C - water fills the spaces in the soil, so the worms cannot get enough air there

Rain water fills the air spaces between the soil particles, leaving too little air around the burrow, so the worms move up to the surface. They take in water through the skin and need not drink it, and a worm whose skin dried out could not breathe at all.

Q5
easy

In human beings, the air drawn in through the nose finally reaches the

  1. A small intestine
  2. B stomach
  3. C lungs
  4. D heart
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: C - lungs

Air travels from the nose down the windpipe and into the lungs, where the exchange of gases takes place. Food and not air goes to the stomach and the intestine, and the heart pumps blood rather than taking in air.

Q6
medium

Why does a cow swallow grass quickly and chew it properly only later?

  1. A it has no teeth at all in its mouth to chew grass with
  2. B it can crop a lot of grass quickly in the open field and chew the stored grass at rest
  3. C chewing grass while standing would make it too tired to walk
  4. D it is unable to swallow food that has already been chewed
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: B - it can crop a lot of grass quickly in the open field and chew the stored grass at rest

A grazing animal is safest when it can gather food fast and then move away, so it swallows grass almost unchewed and chews the stored cud later while resting. A cow does have grinding teeth, and it swallows the chewed cud a second time, so the other options contradict what a cow is seen to do.

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Environment & Ecology 1200 Economy 1075 Logical Reasoning 1013 Quantitative Aptitude 916 Polity & Governance 897 Geography 885 Science & Technology 830 Ancient & Medieval History 737 Art & Culture 711 Modern History 589 International Relations 582 Data Interpretation 515 Reading Comprehension 408 Number Play 317 Fractions 142 A Peek Beyond the Point 125 Light: Shadows and Reflections 120 Quadrilaterals 120 Changes Around Us: Physical and Chemical 120 Proportional Reasoning-1 120 Measurement of Length and Motion 116 Exploring Substances: Acidic, Basic, and Neutral 116 Prime Time 116 Light: Mirrors and Lenses 116 Mindful Eating: A Path to a Healthy Body 115 Exploring Forces 115 Lines and Angles 115 Measurement of Time and Motion 115 Nature's Treasures 115 Parallel and Intersecting Lines 115 Pressure, Winds, Storms, and Cyclones 115 Power Play 114 The Invisible Living World: Beyond Our Naked Eye 112 Working with Fractions 110 Diversity in the Living World 110 A Journey through States of Water 110 A Tale of Three Intersecting Lines 110 The Amazing World of Solutes, Solvents, and Solutions 110 Electricity: Circuits and their Components 110 How Nature Works in Harmony 110 Large Numbers Around Us 110 Nature of Matter: Elements, Compounds, and Mixtures 110 The World of Metals and Non-metals 110 Electricity: Magnetic and Heating Effects 110 We Distribute, Yet Things Multiply 110 A Square and A Cube 109 The Other Side of Zero 106 Heat Transfer in Nature 105 Living Creatures: Exploring their Characteristics 105 Health: The Ultimate Treasure 105 Expressions using Letter-Numbers 105 Methods of Separation in Everyday Life 105 Exploring Magnets 105 Our Home: Earth, a Unique Life Sustaining Planet 105 Beyond Earth 105 Life Processes in Plants 105 Patterns in Mathematics 103 Perimeter and Area 100 Particulate Nature of Matter 100 Materials Around Us 100 A Story of Numbers 100 Earth, Moon, and the Sun 100