JAMB Biology 2018 past questions
Ten questions from the 2018 JAMB Biology paper, with answers and explanations. We hold 89 questions from this paper, and the Skolra app has all of them.
JAMB Biology 2018 questions and answers
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1.
The four classes of cnidarian include the following except
- AAnthozoa
- BScyphozoa
- CTurbellariaCorrect
- DHydrozoa
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Answer: C
Hydrozoa (e.g. Hydra), Scyphozoa (true jellyfish) and Anthozoa (sea anemones and corals) are three of the recognised classes within the phylum Cnidaria (the fourth being Cubozoa, the box jellyfish).
Turbellaria is a class of free-living flatworms belonging to the phylum Platyhelminthes, an entirely different phylum, so it does not belong among the cnidarian classes.
- A
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2.
In the egg of a bird, the embryo is located in the
- Awithin the albumen
- Battached to the inner shell membrane
- Cinside the air space
- Don the surface of the yolk, in the germinal discCorrect
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Answer: D
The embryo of a bird develops from the germinal disc (blastodisc), a small pale spot sitting on the surface of the yolk.
The yolk supplies its food reserves and the albumen and air space serve mainly protective, cushioning and gas-exchange roles around it.
- A
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3.
A beaker of pond water containing few specimens of Euglena was placed in a dark room for two weeks. At the end of this period, the specimens of Euglena were still alive because they were
- Aprotected by a thick resistant cyst wall alone
- Bable to switch to feeding on organic matter in the water when light is unavailableCorrect
- Cable to survive without any source of energy
- Ddormant and not carrying out any life processes
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Answer: B
Euglena is unusual in being able to photosynthesise like a plant when light is available, but it can also take in organic nutrients from its surroundings, feeding heterotrophically, when kept in darkness.
This flexible (mixotrophic) nutrition is why the Euglena in the beaker survived two weeks without light rather than starving.
- A
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4.
The gland that is present close to Trachea
- Apancreas
- Bpituitary gland
- Cadrenal gland
- Dthyroid glandCorrect
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Answer: D
The thyroid gland sits in the neck, wrapped around the front and sides of the trachea (windpipe), just below the larynx.
The adrenal glands sit on top of the kidneys, the pituitary is at the base of the brain, and the pancreas lies in the abdomen, so none of those are close to the trachea.
- A
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5.
Tikka disease is related with the crop
- AgroundnutCorrect
- Bcassava
- Cmaize
- Dcocoa
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Answer: A
Tikka disease is a well-known fungal leaf-spot disease of the groundnut (peanut) plant, caused mainly by Cercospora fungi.
It produces dark circular spots on the leaves that reduce the plant's ability to photosynthesise and can severely cut crop yield.
- A
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6.
Which of the following statements is true about sandy soil?
- Ait has large particles with wide air spaces that drain water rapidlyCorrect
- Bit is the most fertile soil type
- Cit retains water very well
- Dits particles pack tightly together
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Answer: A
Sandy soil is made of relatively large, loosely packed particles, which leaves large spaces between them. Water passes through these spaces quickly instead of being held, which is why sandy soil drains fast and dries out quickly.
Clay, by contrast, has tiny, tightly packed particles that hold water and drain poorly.
- A
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7.
An accurate identification of a rapist can be carried out by conducting
- ADNA fingerprintingCorrect
- Bchromosome counting
- Curine analysis
- Dblood group testing
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Answer: A
Every person (apart from identical twins) carries a unique pattern of repeating DNA sequences. By comparing this pattern from body fluid or tissue left at a crime scene with a suspect's own DNA pattern, forensic scientists can identify or exclude a suspect with very high accuracy.
- A
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8.
What is the function of trichocyst in paramecium?
- Adefence against predatorsCorrect
- Bexcreting excess water
- Cdigesting food particles
- Dlocomotion through water
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Answer: A
Trichocysts are small, rod-like structures just beneath the cell surface of Paramecium. When the organism is threatened, they discharge sharp, thread-like filaments outward, which helps to deter or injure a predator.
Digestion is instead carried out in food vacuoles, excess water is removed by the contractile vacuole, and movement is achieved using cilia.
- A
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9.
Which of the following features is not a characteristic of arteries? Arteries
- Acarry blood under relatively high pressure
- Bhave valves at intervals along their lengthCorrect
- Ccarry blood away from the heart
- Dhave thick, muscular and elastic walls
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Answer: B
Arteries carry blood away from the heart under high pressure, and their thick, muscular, elastic walls are built to withstand that pressure.
Because the pressure alone keeps blood moving forward, arteries (apart from the base of the aorta and pulmonary artery) do not need valves along their length; valves at intervals are instead a feature of veins, which carry blood under low pressure back to the heart.
- A
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10.
The process in which plant uses sunlight to synthesize nutrients from carbon dioxide and water is called
- Afermentation
- Btranspiration
- Crespiration
- DphotosynthesisCorrect
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Answer: D
Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants trap light energy from the sun and use it to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose (and oxygen as a by-product), building organic matter from simple inorganic raw materials.
- A
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
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Practise all 89 questions we hold from the 2018 paper, on a timed CBT screen
Every question has the answer and an explanation, in the Skolra app.