JAMB Biology past questions and answers

Checked by the Skolra question team · Last updated 23 October 2026

JAMB Biology: 556 past questions from 10 papers between 2016 and 2025, each with the answer and an explanation. In the UTME you answer 40 Biology questions, with Use of English and two other subjects, in 2 hours. Here are ten.

1. 1.An example of an endospermous seed is
   1. A
      Groundnut
   2. B
      Maize
      Correct
   3. C
      Bean
   4. D
      Cowpea
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   An endospermous (albuminous) seed keeps its endosperm as the main food store right up to germination. Maize, a cereal grain, is the classic example.

   Groundnut, cowpea and bean are all legumes whose endosperm is absorbed during seed development, with food reserves moved into the two thick cotyledons instead, making them non-endospermous (exalbuminous) seeds.

2. 2.

   Which of the following is the most inclusive level of classification in the Linnaean system?

   1. A
      Species
   2. B
      Family
   3. C
      Kingdom
      Correct
   4. D
      Phylum
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: C

   In the Linnaean system, taxonomic ranks are arranged from the broadest (most organisms included) to the narrowest (most specific), in this order: Kingdom → Phylum → Class → Order → Family → Genus → Species.

3. 3.

   In plants, respiration occurs in

   1. A
      Only the flowers, during pollination
   2. B
      Only the leaves, during daylight hours
   3. C
      Only the roots, at all times
   4. D
      All the living cells of the plant, day and night
      Correct
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: D

   Respiration, unlike photosynthesis, is not restricted to any one organ or to daylight. It takes place in all the living cells of the plant, continuously, day and night, because every living cell needs a constant supply of energy released from respiration to stay alive.

4. 4.

   The butterfly is of great economic importance because

   1. A
      it aids in the pollination of flowering plants
      Correct
   2. B
      it feeds on and controls populations of crop-destroying pests
   3. C
      its larvae spin the silk used in the textile industry
   4. D
      it transmits disease-causing organisms to cultivated crops
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: A

   The butterfly is of great economic importance because it aids in the pollination of flowering plants. As it moves from flower to flower feeding on nectar, pollen sticks to its body and is carried to other flowers, bringing about fertilisation. This directly boosts the yield of many food and cash crops, which is why butterflies matter economically to agriculture.

5. 5.

   The display of male agama lizard is to?

   1. A
      Frighten away approaching predators
   2. B
      Camouflage itself among rocks
   3. C
      Attract a female for mating
      Correct
   4. D
      Regulate its body temperature
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: C

   The male agama lizard performs its familiar head-bobbing, "push-up" display while flashing its bright orange-red head and blue body. This colourful, energetic display is a courtship signal used to attract a female for mating.

   So the correct answer is that the display functions to attract a female for mating.

6. 6.

   The appendicular skeleton is made up of the

   1. A
      Skull, vertebral column and ribs
   2. B
      Vertebral column only
   3. C
      Bones of the forelimbs, hindlimbs, and the pectoral and pelvic girdles
      Correct
   4. D
      Skull and sternum only
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: C

   The appendicular skeleton is made up of the bones of the forelimbs and hindlimbs, together with the pectoral girdle and pelvic girdle that anchor those limbs to the trunk.

7. 7.

   Which of the following blood vessels carries oxygenated blood away from the heart?

   1. A
      Pulmonary artery
   2. B
      Pulmonary vein
   3. C
      Vena cava
   4. D
      Aorta
      Correct
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: D

   The aorta is the correct answer. It is the largest artery in the body and it carries oxygenated blood away from the left ventricle of the heart to all body tissues.

   So the aorta is the only vessel that is both oxygenated and moving away from the heart.

8. 8.

   Which of the following is an evolutionary trend commonly observed in organisms?

   1. A
      Loss of specialised structures as organisms adapt to new habitats
   2. B
      Reduction in the number of offspring produced by each generation
   3. C
      Progressive increase in the complexity of body organisation
      Correct
   4. D
      Gradual decrease in body size from ancestral to modern forms
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: C

   The stem asks for an evolutionary trend commonly observed in organisms — this refers to the broad, well-documented direction seen when scientists compare ancestral organisms with their modern descendants.

9. 9.

   The level of organization of Amoeba and Euglena cell is ________?

   1. A
      Tissue level
   2. B
      Colonial level
   3. C
      Protoplasmic (acellular) level
      Correct
   4. D
      Cellular level
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: C

   In Amoeba and Euglena, a single cell carries out every life process — feeding, movement, excretion and reproduction — entirely on its own. This is called the protoplasmic (or acellular) level of organisation, the simplest level, since the whole organism is just one unit of protoplasm.

10. 10.

    The most abundant group of organisms in the animal kingdom?

    1. A
       Annelida
    2. B
       Mollusca
    3. C
       Chordata
    4. D
       Arthropoda
       Correct
    Show answerHide answer

    Answer: D

    Arthropoda is correct. This phylum includes insects, arachnids, crustaceans and myriapods, and it contains more described species than all other animal phyla put together — well over three-quarters of all known animals belong here, mainly because of the huge diversity of insects.

    Mollusca (snails, slugs, octopuses) is the second-largest phylum, but nowhere near as abundant as Arthropoda.

The questions come from past JAMB, WAEC and NECO papers. We use software to help write the answer options and explanations, and every answer is checked twice before it goes on the site. How we check

Spotted a wrong answer? Tell us from the app or on the contact page and we check it.

Sit a full timed 40-question JAMB Biology test in the Skolra app

All 556 JAMB Biology questions we hold are in the app, each with the answer and an explanation. Practise by year, or sit a full JAMB mock exam.

Download for WindowsDownload for Mac

About the app · Skolra for Windows · Skolra for Mac