Five Kingdom Classification — NEET Biology MCQs with Solutions
Free NEET Biology Five Kingdom Classification MCQs with step-by-step solutions (9 questions). Part of Biological Classification. Practise online on Prepizo — no login needed.
▶ Practise Five Kingdom Classification online (free)
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.