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Cell: The Unit of Life — NEET Biology MCQs with Solutions
Free NEET Biology Cell: The Unit of Life MCQs with step-by-step solutions covering Cell Organelles, Cell Theory & Overview, Prokaryotic Cells, Cell Membrane & Cell Wall, Endomembrane System, Mitochondria, Plastids & Ribosomes. Practise online on Prepizo — no login needed.
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Sample questions with solutions
Q1 — Cell Theory & Overview · easy · theory
The cell theory (Schleiden & Schwann, modified by Virchow) states that:
A. Cells cannot divide
B. All living organisms are made of cells, and new cells arise from pre-existing cells ✓ Correct
C. Cells arise from non-living matter
D. Only plants are made of cells
Solution: Virchow added "Omnis cellula-e cellula" — every cell comes from a pre-existing cell.
Q2 — Cell Theory & Overview · easy · theory
The scientist who first observed and named "cells" (in cork) was:
A. Rudolf Virchow
B. Anton von Leeuwenhoek
C. Robert Brown
D. Robert Hooke ✓ Correct
Solution: Robert Hooke (1665) observed dead cork cells; Leeuwenhoek first saw living cells.
Q3 — Prokaryotic Cells · easy · theory
A defining feature of prokaryotic cells is the absence of a:
A. Ribosomes
B. Membrane-bound nucleus and organelles ✓ Correct
C. Cytoplasm
D. Cell membrane
Solution: Prokaryotes lack a nuclear envelope and membrane-bound organelles; their DNA lies in a nucleoid.
Q4 — Prokaryotic Cells · easy · theory
The ribosomes of prokaryotes are of the ______ type:
A. 60S
B. 70S ✓ Correct
C. 80S
D. 90S
Solution: Prokaryotic ribosomes are 70S (30S + 50S); eukaryotic cytoplasmic ribosomes are 80S.
Q5 — Endomembrane System · easy · theory
The rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) bears ribosomes and is chiefly the site of:
A. Photosynthesis
B. Protein synthesis (and secretion) ✓ Correct
C. Lipid synthesis only
D. ATP production
Solution: RER is studded with ribosomes and synthesises proteins for secretion/membranes; SER makes lipids/steroids.
Q6 — Endomembrane System · easy · theory
The Golgi apparatus is chiefly involved in:
A. DNA replication
B. Protein digestion in the cytosol
C. ATP synthesis
D. Packaging, modification and secretion of materials ✓ Correct
Solution: The Golgi modifies, sorts and packages proteins/lipids into vesicles, and forms lysosomes.
Q7 — Mitochondria, Plastids & Ribosomes · easy · theory
Mitochondria are called the "power houses of the cell" because they:
A. Perform photosynthesis
B. Synthesise proteins for export
C. Produce ATP by aerobic respiration ✓ Correct
D. Store genetic material
Solution: The mitochondrion is the site of aerobic respiration (Krebs cycle + oxidative phosphorylation), producing ATP.
Q8 — Mitochondria, Plastids & Ribosomes · easy · theory
The inner mitochondrial membrane is folded into finger-like ______ to increase surface area:
A. Grana
B. Lamellae
C. Thylakoids
D. Cristae ✓ Correct
Solution: Cristae bear the enzymes/ETC of oxidative phosphorylation; the inner compartment is the matrix.
Q9 — Cytoskeleton, Cilia, Flagella & Centrioles · easy · theory
Cilia and flagella are hair-like extensions of the cell membrane covering a core of microtubules called the:
A. Axoneme ✓ Correct
B. Centromere
C. Cristae
D. Basal body
Solution: The axoneme has a 9 + 2 arrangement of microtubules and arises from a basal body.
Q10 — Cytoskeleton, Cilia, Flagella & Centrioles · easy · theory
The network of filamentous proteins (microtubules, microfilaments) that gives shape and enables movement is the:
A. Cell wall
B. Cytoskeleton ✓ Correct
C. Glycocalyx
D. Endomembrane system
Solution: The cytoskeleton provides mechanical support, shape, motility and intracellular transport.
Q11 — Nucleus & Chromosomes · easy · theory
The nucleus is bounded by a double membrane, the nuclear envelope, interrupted by:
A. Nuclear pores ✓ Correct
B. Sieve plates
C. Thylakoids
D. Cristae
Solution: Nuclear pores allow selective exchange (RNA, proteins) between nucleoplasm and cytoplasm.
Q12 — Nucleus & Chromosomes · easy · theory
The loose, thread-like DNA–protein material seen in a non-dividing nucleus is:
A. Chromosome
B. Chromatin ✓ Correct
C. Nucleolus
D. Ribosome
Solution: Chromatin condenses into visible chromosomes during division; the nucleolus is the site of rRNA synthesis.
Q13 — Cell Organelles · easy · numerical
Which set contains ONLY organelles that are NOT bounded by any membrane?
A. Nucleolus, Golgi apparatus and ribosomes
B. Ribosomes, centrioles and nucleolus ✓ Correct
C. Ribosomes, lysosomes and centrioles
D. Centrioles, mitochondria and ribosomes
Solution: Ribosomes, centrioles and the nucleolus lack a limiting membrane. Lysosomes, Golgi and mitochondria are all membrane-bound, so the other sets are wrong.
Q14 — Cell Organelles · easy · numerical
A student lists organelles that possess a single (unit) membrane. Which one does NOT belong on that list?
A. Endoplasmic reticulum
B. Golgi cisterna
C. Lysosome
D. Mitochondrion ✓ Correct
Solution: Mitochondria have a double membrane, whereas lysosomes, Golgi cisternae and the ER are each bounded by a single membrane.
Q15 — Cell Organelles · easy · numerical
Osmosis of water and diffusion of neutral gases like O₂ and CO₂ across the plasma membrane are examples of:
A. Active transport requiring ATP hydrolysis
B. Passive transport requiring no expenditure of energy ✓ Correct
C. Facilitated transport requiring specific carrier proteins
D. Endocytosis mediated by clathrin-coated pits
Solution: Movement of water (osmosis) and small non-polar gases occurs down their gradients without energy input, so it is passive transport.
Q16 — Cell Theory & Overview · easy · numerical
Which observation is best explained as a genuine EXCEPTION to the classical cell theory?
A. Viruses can reproduce, yet they are acellular and lack a cell structure ✓ Correct
B. A neuron carries out both structural and functional roles
C. A skin cell arises only from a pre-existing skin cell
D. A bacterium divides to form two daughter bacteria
Solution: Cell theory holds that all life is made of cells and all cells arise from pre-existing cells; viruses, being acellular and reproducing only inside a host, do not fit and are regarded as an exception.
Q17 — Cell Theory & Overview · easy · numerical
Anton von Leeuwenhoek is historically significant in cytology because he:
A. Coined the term cell after examining cork
B. Was the first to describe the nucleus of a cell
C. First saw and described living cells (free-living animalcules) using his own microscopes ✓ Correct
D. Proposed that new cells arise from pre-existing cells
Solution: Leeuwenhoek first observed and described living cells (microorganisms). Hooke named cells in cork, Virchow proposed omnis cellula-e cellula, and Robert Brown described the nucleus.
Q18 — Cell Theory & Overview · easy · numerical
The contribution "Omnis cellula-e cellula" (every cell arises from a pre-existing cell) that completed the cell theory was made by:
A. Matthias Schleiden
B. Robert Hooke
C. Theodor Schwann
D. Rudolf Virchow ✓ Correct
Solution: Rudolf Virchow explained that cells divide and new cells form from pre-existing cells, extending the Schleiden-Schwann proposal.
Q19 — Prokaryotic Cells · easy · numerical
The genetic material of a bacterial cell is best described as:
A. Several linear DNA molecules wrapped around histones inside a nuclear envelope
B. A single naked, circular DNA molecule lying in the nucleoid, not enclosed by a membrane ✓ Correct
C. Circular DNA enclosed within a true membrane-bound nucleus
D. RNA associated with the mesosome
Solution: Prokaryotes have a single circular naked DNA (no histone-based nucleosomes, no nuclear membrane) located in the nucleoid region.
Q20 — Prokaryotic Cells · easy · numerical
Which structure gives certain bacterial cells the ability to adhere to surfaces or to host cells but is NOT involved in motility?
A. Pili and fimbriae ✓ Correct
B. Flagellum
C. Mesosome
D. Ribosome
Solution: Pili and fimbriae are small surface appendages used for attachment (and conjugation), not locomotion; the flagellum is the motility structure.
Q21 — Prokaryotic Cells · easy · numerical
Reserve materials in prokaryotic cells such as phosphate granules, glycogen granules and cyanophycean granules are stored as:
A. Granules enclosed within the nucleoid
B. Inclusion bodies lying free in the cytoplasm without any bounding membrane ✓ Correct
C. Vacuoles bounded by a tonoplast
D. Membrane-bound vesicles budded from the Golgi
Solution: Inclusion bodies store reserve material and lie freely in the cytoplasm, not enclosed by any membrane.
Q22 — Endomembrane System · easy · numerical
Why are mitochondria, chloroplasts and peroxisomes NOT included in the endomembrane system?
A. They lack any bounding membrane
B. They are physically continuous with the plasma membrane
C. They are found only in prokaryotes
D. Their functions are not coordinated with the ER-Golgi-lysosome-vacuole network ✓ Correct
Solution: The endomembrane system groups organelles whose functions are coordinated (ER, Golgi, lysosomes, vacuoles); mitochondria, chloroplasts and peroxisomes are excluded because their functions are not part of that coordination.
Q23 — Endomembrane System · easy · numerical
Within a Golgi apparatus, the face that is convex and lies nearer the endoplasmic reticulum (the receiving face) is the:
A. Median face only
B. Lumen face
C. Trans (maturing) face
D. Cis (forming) face ✓ Correct
Solution: The cis or forming face is convex and lies close to the ER; it receives vesicles, while the concave trans (maturing) face packages and ships them out — the two faces are distinct in composition.
Q24 — Endomembrane System · easy · numerical
The smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) differs from the rough ER chiefly because the SER:
A. Bears ribosomes and mainly synthesises secretory proteins
B. Lacks ribosomes and is a major site of lipid and steroid synthesis ✓ Correct
C. Contains hydrolytic enzymes for intracellular digestion
D. Is always continuous with the nuclear envelope while RER is not
Solution: SER has no ribosomes on its surface and is the principal site for synthesis of lipids and steroids; RER (with ribosomes) makes proteins.
Q25 — Mitochondria, Plastids & Ribosomes · easy · numerical
Which feature is shared by BOTH mitochondria and chloroplasts but NOT by the nucleus?
A. They are absent in plant cells
B. They are the sites of transcription of all cellular mRNA
C. They contain their own circular DNA and 70S ribosomes ✓ Correct
D. They are bounded by a single membrane
Solution: Both mitochondria and chloroplasts have their own double membrane, circular DNA and 70S ribosomes, making them semi-autonomous; the nucleus has linear DNA and no 70S ribosomes.
Q26 — Mitochondria, Plastids & Ribosomes · easy · numerical
The matrix enclosed by the inner mitochondrial membrane contains the enzymes for which process?
A. The citric acid (Krebs) cycle ✓ Correct
B. Glycolysis
C. The light reactions of photosynthesis
D. Translation of nuclear mRNA on 80S ribosomes
Solution: The mitochondrial matrix houses the enzymes of the Krebs cycle; glycolysis occurs in the cytosol and the light reactions occur in chloroplast thylakoids.
Q27 — Mitochondria, Plastids & Ribosomes · easy · numerical
A ribosome sediments as 80S and its two subunits as 60S and 40S. Such ribosomes are characteristic of the:
A. Mitochondrial matrix
B. Cytoplasm of bacterial cells
C. Cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells ✓ Correct
D. Chloroplast stroma
Solution: The 80S ribosome (60S + 40S) is found on the RER and free in the cytoplasm of eukaryotes; prokaryotes and the organelles (mitochondria, chloroplasts) have 70S ribosomes.
Q28 — Cytoskeleton, Cilia, Flagella & Centrioles · easy · numerical
The core of a eukaryotic cilium or flagellum, called the axoneme, typically shows an arrangement described as:
A. 9 + 0, with nine peripheral triplets and no central tubule
B. 9 + 2, with nine peripheral doublets surrounding two central microtubules ✓ Correct
C. 11 + 2, with eleven peripheral singlets and two central tubules
D. 9 + 3, with nine doublets around three central tubules
Solution: The eukaryotic axoneme has nine peripheral microtubule doublets and one central pair (9 + 2 pattern); centrioles by contrast show a 9 + 0 pattern of triplets.
Q29 — Cytoskeleton, Cilia, Flagella & Centrioles · easy · numerical
A centriole shows a cartwheel organisation. Its peripheral fibrils are arranged as:
A. Eleven peripheral triplets with two central tubules
B. Nine peripheral doublets with two central tubules (9 + 2)
C. Nine peripheral singlets with a central hub (9 + 1)
D. Nine evenly spaced peripheral triplets with no central tubule (9 + 0) ✓ Correct
Solution: Each centriole has nine evenly spaced peripheral fibrils of tubulin triplets and lacks central tubules — the 9 + 0 cartwheel pattern.
Q30 — Cytoskeleton, Cilia, Flagella & Centrioles · easy · numerical
The cytoskeleton of a eukaryotic cell is a network made of:
A. Only DNA and histone fibres
B. Only cellulose microfibrils
C. Microtubules, microfilaments (actin) and intermediate filaments ✓ Correct
D. Chitin plates and peptidoglycan strands
Solution: The cytoskeleton is composed of proteinaceous filaments — microtubules, actin microfilaments and intermediate filaments — providing shape, mechanical support and motility.