WAEC Agricultural Science 2000 past questions

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

Ten questions from the 2000 WAEC Agricultural Science paper, with answers and explanations. We hold 55 questions from this paper, and the Skolra app has all of them.

WAEC Agricultural Science 2000 questions and answers

1. 1.Which of the following materials is not allowed in the harvesting of fish?
   1. A
      Gill net
   2. B
      Hook and line
   3. C
      Basket trap
   4. D
      Chemical poison
      Correct
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: D

   Chemical poison is correct — it is the material not allowed in fish harvesting.

   Approved fish harvesting materials such as the gill net, basket trap, and hook and line are selective: they allow fishermen to control the size and quantity of fish caught, leaving young fish (fingerlings) in the water to grow and reproduce, and they do not harm the water body.

2. 2.A tractor costing N80,000.00 was sold for N20,000.00 after it has been used for 10 years. what is the salvage value of the tractor?
   1. A
      ₦80,000.00
   2. B
      ₦60,000.00
   3. C
      ₦20,000.00
      Correct
   4. D
      ₦6,000.00
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: C

   ₦20,000.00 is the salvage value.

   In farm business management, the salvage value (also called scrap or residual value) of an asset is simply the amount it can be sold for at the end of its useful working life. The tractor was bought for ₦80,000.00 and, after 10 years in use, was sold for ₦20,000.00 — that ₦20,000.00 realised at disposal is, by definition, the salvage value.

3. 3.Which of the following soil characteristics is constant?
   1. A
      Soil pH
   2. B
      Soil texture
      Correct
   3. C
      Soil structure
   4. D
      Soil fertility
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   Soil texture is the soil characteristic that stays constant. Texture describes the relative proportions of sand, silt and clay particles that make up the soil, and this proportion is fixed by the parent rock material from which the soil formed. No ordinary farm practice changes the ratio of sand to silt to clay in a soil, so texture is used as a permanent, unchanging label for a soil type (e.g. sandy loam, clay).

   Because texture alone cannot be practically altered, it is the correct answer to "which soil characteristic is constant".

4. 4.In the nitrogen cycle,nitrosomonas and nitrobacter are responsible for
   1. A
      ammonification of dead organic matter into ammonia
   2. B
      fixation of atmospheric nitrogen into ammonium compounds
   3. C
      denitrification of soil nitrates back to atmospheric nitrogen
   4. D
      nitrification, changing ammonium compounds to nitrites and nitrates
      Correct
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: D

   Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter are the two bacteria that carry out nitrification in the nitrogen cycle, so that is the correct answer.

5. 5.When sugarcane is allowed to flower before harvesting, the
   1. A
      sugar content of the stem is reduced
      Correct
   2. B
      girth of the stem increases rapidly
   3. C
      time taken for the cane to mature is shortened
   4. D
      sugar content of the stem is increased
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: A

   Correct answer: sugar content of the stem is reduced.

   Sugarcane stores sucrose (sugar) in its stem for later use in reproduction. When the plant is allowed to flower (a process farmers call "arrowing") before it is harvested, the plant redirects its stored sugars away from the stem and into producing the flower head and seed. At the same time, the stem tissue becomes pithy (spongy and fibrous) around the nodes where the flower stalk pushes through.

6. 6.If 200kg of NPK fertilizer is required for an hectare of maize farm, calculate the amount of the fertilizer required for 15 hectares of maize farm.
   1. A
      30,000kg
   2. B
      2,000kg
   3. C
      300kg
   4. D
      3,000kg
      Correct
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: D

   The fertilizer requirement is a simple rate problem: 200kg of NPK is needed for every 1 hectare, so for 15 hectares, multiply the rate by the number of hectares.

   200kg × 15 hectares = 3,000kg. This is the amount of NPK fertilizer required for the 15-hectare maize farm.

7. 7.Which of the following is not an example of metamorphic rock?
   1. A
      Marble
   2. B
      Granite
      Correct
   3. C
      Quartzite
   4. D
      Slate
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   Granite is not a metamorphic rock — it is an igneous rock, formed when molten magma cools and solidifies, either slowly underground (giving it its typical coarse, crystalline grains of quartz, feldspar and mica) or rapidly at the surface.

8. 8.The intermediate host of liverfluke is
   1. A
      Mosquito
   2. B
      Tsetse fly
   3. C
      Housefly
   4. D
      Snail
      Correct
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: D

   The liverfluke (Fasciola hepatica) is a flatworm parasite that causes liver rot in sheep, goats and cattle. Its life cycle cannot be completed in one host alone — it needs an intermediate host in which its larval stages develop before the parasite becomes infective to livestock.

9. 9.The hormone responsible for milk let-down in cows is
   1. A
      Progesterone
   2. B
      Oxytocin
      Correct
   3. C
      Oestrogen
   4. D
      Prolactin
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   Oxytocin is the hormone responsible for milk let-down (the milk-ejection reflex) in cows. When a calf suckles or milking begins, nerve signals travel to the cow's posterior pituitary gland, which releases oxytocin into the blood. Oxytocin makes the tiny myoepithelial (muscle-like) cells surrounding the udder's alveoli contract, squeezing the stored milk out into the ducts and teats so it can be drawn or milked out.

   So remember: prolactin makes the milk, oxytocin lets it down.

10. 10.Detailed survey for the site of a fish pond is necessary for the following except
    1. A
       Determining the type and water-holding quality of the soil
    2. B
       Deciding the species of fish to be stocked
       Correct
    3. C
       Determining the source and volume of water supply available
    4. D
       Determining the slope (topography) of the land
    Show answerHide answer

    Answer: B

    A detailed site survey before building a fish pond is about the land and water, not about the fish that will later be reared in it.

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.

Practise all 55 questions we hold from the 2000 paper, on a timed CBT screen

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