Five Kingdom Classification — NEET Biology MCQs with Solutions
Free NEET Biology Five Kingdom Classification MCQs with step-by-step solutions (49 questions). Part of Biological Classification. Practise online on Prepizo — no login needed.
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Questions with solutions
Q1 — Five Kingdom Classification · easy · theory
The Five Kingdom classification was proposed by:
A. R.H. Whittaker ✓ Correct
B. Ernst Haeckel
C. Robert Hooke
D. Carolus Linnaeus
Solution: R.H. Whittaker (1969) proposed the five kingdoms: Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia.
Q2 — Five Kingdom Classification · easy · theory
Which of the following was NOT used as a main criterion by Whittaker for his five-kingdom system?
A. Mode of nutrition
B. Body organisation
C. Habitat ✓ Correct
D. Cell structure (prokaryotic/eukaryotic)
Solution: The main criteria were cell structure, body organisation, mode of nutrition, reproduction and phylogenetic relationships — not habitat.
Q3 — Five Kingdom Classification · easy · theory
In the two-kingdom system, a major difficulty was that it did not distinguish between:
A. Prokaryotes and eukaryotes (both were grouped as plants/animals) ✓ Correct
B. Plants and animals
C. Aerobes and anaerobes
D. Vertebrates and invertebrates
Solution: The two-kingdom (Plantae/Animalia) scheme placed bacteria, fungi and algae together and ignored the prokaryote–eukaryote divide.
Q4 — Five Kingdom Classification · medium · theory
Which kingdom in Whittaker's system contains BOTH prokaryotic and eukaryotic-mimicking difficulty, prompting later revisions? Correctly, chlorophyll-containing organisms are scattered across which kingdoms?
A. Plantae and Fungi
B. Monera, Protista and Plantae ✓ Correct
C. Only Plantae
D. Only Protista
Solution: Photosynthetic (chlorophyll-bearing) organisms occur in Monera (cyanobacteria), Protista (algae) and Plantae — a limitation Whittaker's scheme did not fully resolve.
Q5 — Five Kingdom Classification · medium · theory
Placing fungi in a separate kingdom (rather than with plants) is justified mainly because fungi:
A. Have cell walls of chitin and are heterotrophic (absorptive) ✓ Correct
B. Are prokaryotic
C. Are photosynthetic
D. Lack cell walls
Solution: Fungi differ from plants in having chitinous walls and a heterotrophic, absorptive (saprophytic/parasitic) mode of nutrition.
Q6 — Five Kingdom Classification · medium · theory
Which statement about the Kingdom Protista is a recognised limitation of the five-kingdom system?
A. It contains only prokaryotes
B. It contains only autotrophs
C. Its boundaries are not well defined — it is a heterogeneous, "catch-all" group ✓ Correct
D. It is the most homogeneous kingdom
Solution: Protista is ill-defined and heterogeneous; organisms are placed there largely by exclusion, a well-known weakness.
Q7 — Five Kingdom Classification · hard · theory
The three-domain system (Carl Woese) split one of Whittaker's kingdoms. Which kingdom was divided, and into what?
A. Protista → two kingdoms
B. Monera → Archaea and Bacteria (Eubacteria) ✓ Correct
C. Plantae → algae and land plants
D. Fungi → two kingdoms
Solution: Woese's system placed the domains Archaea, Bacteria and Eukarya, effectively splitting Monera into Archaea and Eubacteria based on rRNA and membrane chemistry.
Q8 — Five Kingdom Classification · hard · theory
An organism is unicellular, eukaryotic and photosynthetic. Under Whittaker's scheme it belongs to:
A. Plantae
B. Fungi
C. Monera
D. Protista ✓ Correct
Solution: Unicellular eukaryotes (whether autotrophic or heterotrophic) are placed in Protista; cyanobacteria (prokaryotic autotrophs) would be Monera.
Q9 — Five Kingdom Classification · hard · theory
Which of the following correctly pairs a mode of nutrition absent as the SOLE strategy from a kingdom in the five-kingdom scheme?
A. Fungi — photosynthetic autotrophy is absent ✓ Correct
B. Monera — heterotrophy is absent
C. Plantae — autotrophy is absent
D. Animalia — ingestive heterotrophy is absent
Solution: Fungi are never photoautotrophic; Plantae are autotrophic, Monera include both auto- and heterotrophs, and Animalia are ingestive heterotrophs.
Q10 — Five Kingdom Classification · easy · numerical
In Whittaker's five-kingdom scheme, which is the ONLY kingdom made up entirely of prokaryotic organisms and also the earliest to appear in evolution?
A. Plantae
B. Monera ✓ Correct
C. Protista
D. Fungi
Solution: Monera comprises only prokaryotes (bacteria) and represents the most ancient, first-appearing group; the other four kingdoms are all eukaryotic.
Q11 — Five Kingdom Classification · easy · numerical
Among the five kingdoms, a true cell wall is characteristically ABSENT (as a rule) in the members of:
A. Fungi
B. Animalia ✓ Correct
C. Plantae
D. Monera
Solution: Animal cells lack a cell wall, whereas Plantae (cellulose), Fungi (chitin) and Monera (peptidoglycan/other) all possess walls.
Q12 — Five Kingdom Classification · easy · numerical
The single most fundamental criterion that led Whittaker to separate Kingdom Monera from every other kingdom was the:
A. presence or absence of a cell wall
B. autotrophic versus heterotrophic nutrition
C. unicellular versus multicellular body
D. prokaryotic versus eukaryotic cellular organisation ✓ Correct
Solution: Monera is set apart because its members are prokaryotic (no true nucleus or membrane-bound organelles); all other kingdoms are eukaryotic.
Q13 — Five Kingdom Classification · medium · numerical
If all life is split into the two empires Prokaryota and Eukaryota, how many of Whittaker's five kingdoms fall under the empire Eukaryota?
A. Three
B. Two
C. Four ✓ Correct
D. Five
Solution: Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia are eukaryotic (four kingdoms); only Monera is prokaryotic.
Q14 — Five Kingdom Classification · medium · numerical
In Carl Woese's three-domain system, which of Whittaker's kingdoms are grouped together under the single domain Eukarya?
A. Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia ✓ Correct
B. Only Plantae and Animalia
C. Monera and Protista
D. All five kingdoms of Whittaker
Solution: The three domains are Archaea, Bacteria and Eukarya; Eukarya unites all four eukaryotic kingdoms (Protista, Fungi, Plantae, Animalia).
Q15 — Five Kingdom Classification · medium · numerical
Assertion (A): Kingdom Protista is often regarded as an artificial (polyphyletic) assemblage. Reason (R): It brings together diverse organisms that do not share a single common ancestor.
A. A is false but R is true
B. A is true but R is false
C. Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A
D. Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A ✓ Correct
Solution: Protista lumps together varied unicellular eukaryotes of different ancestries, so it is polyphyletic/artificial — R correctly explains A.
Q16 — Five Kingdom Classification · medium · numerical
Match the kingdom with its distinctive feature: (i) Monera (ii) Protista (iii) Fungi (iv) Animalia; (p) multicellular, heterotrophic, no cell wall (q) prokaryotic (r) eukaryotic, unicellular (s) multicellular, chitinous wall, absorptive heterotroph.
A. (i)-(r), (ii)-(q), (iii)-(p), (iv)-(s)
B. (i)-(q), (ii)-(r), (iii)-(s), (iv)-(p) ✓ Correct
C. (i)-(s), (ii)-(p), (iii)-(q), (iv)-(r)
D. (i)-(q), (ii)-(r), (iii)-(p), (iv)-(s)
Solution: Monera is prokaryotic, Protista is unicellular eukaryotic, Fungi are walled absorptive heterotrophs, and Animalia are wall-less multicellular heterotrophs.
Q17 — Five Kingdom Classification · medium · numerical
Assertion (A): Whittaker used mode of nutrition to separate photosynthetic Plantae from absorptive-heterotrophic Fungi. Reason (R): Both Plantae and Fungi are eukaryotic and possess a cell wall.
A. A is false but R is true
B. Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A ✓ Correct
C. Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
D. A is true but R is false
Solution: A (a nutritional difference) and R (a shared similarity) are both true, but the similarity in R does not explain why they are separated — so R is not the explanation of A.
Q18 — Five Kingdom Classification · easy · theory
Aristotle classified plants on the basis of:
A. Genetical characters
B. All characters
C. Morphological characters ✓ Correct
D. Anatomical characters
Solution: Aristotle used simple morphological characters to classify plants.
Q19 — Five Kingdom Classification · easy · theory
Aristotle classified plants into:
A. Trees, shrubs and herbs ✓ Correct
B. None of the above
C. Shrubs only
D. Trees only
Solution: Aristotle divided plants into trees, shrubs and herbs.
Q20 — Five Kingdom Classification · easy · theory
Aristotle classified animals into:
A. Animals with white blood and without white blood
B. Animals with white blood and without red blood
C. All of the above
D. Animals with red blood and without red blood ✓ Correct
Solution: Aristotle grouped animals into those with red blood and those without.
Q21 — Five Kingdom Classification · easy · theory
Two kingdom system of classification was proposed by:
A. Aristotle
B. John Ray
C. Linnaeus ✓ Correct
D. Theophrastus
Solution: Carolus Linnaeus proposed the two-kingdom system (Plantae and Animalia).
Q22 — Five Kingdom Classification · easy · theory
In the two kingdom system of classification organisms were divided into:
A. Monera and Protista
B. Plantae and Animalia ✓ Correct
C. Protista and Animalia
D. Monera and Plantae
Solution: The two-kingdom system had only Plantae and Animalia.
Q23 — Five Kingdom Classification · medium · theory
Which of the following is not correct for Monera?
A. Cellulosic cell wall ✓ Correct
B. Cellular body organisation
C. Nuclear membrane absent
D. Prokaryotic cell type
Solution: Monerans have a non-cellulosic (peptidoglycan) cell wall, not cellulosic.
Q24 — Five Kingdom Classification · easy · theory
Which of the following is correct for Monera?
A. All of the above ✓ Correct
B. Plasma membrane present
C. Unicellular
D. DNA is present
Solution: Monerans are unicellular prokaryotes with DNA and a plasma membrane.
Q25 — Five Kingdom Classification · easy · theory
Which of the following is correct for Protista?
A. All of the above ✓ Correct
B. Nuclear membrane present
C. Cell wall present in some members
D. Eukaryotic cell type
Solution: Protists are eukaryotic; some have a cell wall and all have a nuclear membrane.
Q26 — Five Kingdom Classification · medium · theory
Which of the following is not correct for Protista?
A. May be plant-like or animal-like
B. Plasma membrane is present
C. Chloroplast may be present
D. Multicellular body organisation ✓ Correct
Solution: Protists are unicellular, not multicellular.
Q27 — Five Kingdom Classification · easy · theory
Which of the following is correct for Fungi?
A. Non-cellulosic (chitin) cell wall present
B. Eukaryotic cell type
C. Nuclear membrane present
D. All of the above ✓ Correct
Solution: Fungi are eukaryotes with a chitinous cell wall and true nucleus.
Q28 — Five Kingdom Classification · easy · theory
Which of the following is correct for kingdom Plantae?
A. Cellulosic cell wall present
B. All of the above ✓ Correct
C. Eukaryotic cell type
D. Nuclear membrane present
Solution: Plants are eukaryotes with a cellulosic cell wall and true nucleus.
Q29 — Five Kingdom Classification · medium · theory
Which of the following is not correct for kingdom Plantae?
A. Unicellular body organisation ✓ Correct
B. Multicellular body
C. Membrane present around the organelles
D. Photosynthetic
Solution: Plants are multicellular, not unicellular.
Q30 — Five Kingdom Classification · easy · theory
What is the mode of nutrition in Protista?
A. All of these ✓ Correct
B. Autotrophic
C. Photosynthetic
D. Heterotrophic
Solution: Protists show both autotrophic (photosynthetic) and heterotrophic nutrition.