JAMB Biology 2019 past questions

Checked by the Skolra question team · Last updated 15 October 2026

Ten questions from the 2019 JAMB Biology paper, with answers and explanations. We hold 59 questions from this paper, and the Skolra app has all of them.

JAMB Biology 2019 questions and answers

1. 1.

   Ecology is best defined as the study of

   1. A
      the study of the interrelationship between living organisms and their environment
      Correct
   2. B
      the breeding and improvement of crop varieties
   3. C
      the internal structure and function of cells
   4. D
      the classification of plants into families
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   Answer: A

   Ecology is best defined as the scientific study of the interrelationship between living organisms and their environment — how organisms interact with one another and with non-living (abiotic) factors such as soil, water, light and temperature.

2. 2.

   The male gamete in plants is contained in the

   1. A
      Ovule
   2. B
      Anther
   3. C
      Pollen grain
      Correct
   4. D
      Stigma
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   Answer: C

   The male gamete of a flowering plant is contained within the pollen grain. Each pollen grain, once mature, carries a generative cell that divides to produce the male (sperm) nuclei used in fertilisation.

3. 3.

   The structure that connects the fetus to the placenta is the

   1. A
      Placenta
   2. B
      Chorion
   3. C
      Amnion
   4. D
      Umbilical cord
      Correct
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   Answer: D

   The umbilical cord is the flexible, rope-like structure that connects the fetus to the placenta. It carries the umbilical blood vessels through which nutrients and oxygen pass from the mother's side to the fetus, and waste products pass back.

4. 4.

   Which of the following essential substance is contained in vegetable?

   1. A
      Protein
   2. B
      Fat
   3. C
      Vitamins
      Correct
   4. D
      Carbohydrate
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   Answer: C

   Vegetables are chiefly valued in the diet as a rich source of vitamins (along with minerals and fibre), which is why they are grouped as "protective foods."

   Fat, protein and carbohydrate are instead supplied mainly by other food groups — oils and animal fat, meat/fish/legumes, and cereals/tubers respectively — rather than being the essential substance vegetables are best known for.

5. 5.

   The presence of ______ for swimming in a tad-pole enables it to adapt in an aquatic habitat.

   1. A
      lungs
   2. B
      fur
   3. C
      limbs
   4. D
      a tail
      Correct
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   Answer: D

   A tadpole possesses a tail — long, flattened and fringed with a fin — which it beats from side to side to swim through water, adapting it to aquatic life while it still has gills for breathing underwater.

6. 6.

   Which of the following substances pass through the root cell membrane by osmosis?

   1. A
      Glucose
   2. B
      Oxygen gas
   3. C
      Water
      Correct
   4. D
      Mineral salts
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   Answer: C

   Osmosis is defined specifically as the movement of water across a selectively permeable membrane, from a region of higher water potential to one of lower water potential. It is water, moving from the soil solution into the root hair cell, that passes through the cell membrane this way.

7. 7.

   Which organ removes the largest quantity of water from the blood?

   1. A
      Lungs
   2. B
      Liver
   3. C
      Skin
   4. D
      Kidney
      Correct
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   Answer: D

   The kidney removes by far the largest quantity of water from the blood, filtering it continually through the nephrons as part of forming urine (most of this filtered water is later reabsorbed, but the kidney still processes the greatest volume overall).

8. 8.

   Which of the following is a characteristic of living organisms?

   1. A
      Being able to dissolve completely in water without any chemical change
   2. B
      Increasing in size only by the external addition of particles, with no internal life process
   3. C
      Having a completely fixed, unchanging shape at all times
   4. D
      The ability to respond to stimuli from the surrounding environment
      Correct
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   Answer: D

   One of the recognised characteristics shared by all living organisms is irritability/sensitivity — the ability to detect and respond to stimuli from the environment (light, touch, chemicals, etc.).

9. 9.Which of the following substances has the highest amount of energy in joules per unit weight?
   1. A
      Carbohydrate
   2. B
      Water
   3. C
      Fat
      Correct
   4. D
      Protein
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   Answer: C

   Fat contains the highest amount of energy per unit weight of the substances listed — roughly double that of an equal weight of carbohydrate or protein, which is why fat is the body's most concentrated energy-storage substance.

10. 10.

    Which of the following is an example of discontinous variatio?

    1. A
       Height
    2. B
       Blood group
       Correct
    3. C
       Body weight
    4. D
       Skin colour
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    Answer: B

    Blood group is a classic example of discontinuous variation: a person is sharply either A, B, AB or O, with no intermediate blood groups possible — the trait falls into distinct, separate categories.

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 59 questions we hold from the 2019 paper, on a timed CBT screen

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