The chapter NIOS Biology Kingdoms Plantae and Animalia focuses on the classification and diversity of plants and animals. It explains major characteristics, structural differences, and examples from both kingdoms. Students learn about evolutionary relationships and adaptations in the living world.
Terminal exercise solutions are provided to help practice important questions. This chapter is useful for building a strong conceptual foundation in biology and preparing thoroughly for the NIOS Class 12 exam.
NIOS Biology Kingdoms Plantae and Animalia
1. List the main groups of Kingdom Plantae.
Kingdom Plantae (Embryophyta) is classified into the following divisions:
- Bryophyta: Amphibians of the plant kingdom, non-vascular.
- Pteridophyta: True roots, stem, and leaves, with vascular tissue present.
- Spermatophyta: Seed-producing, vascular tissues present.
2. Give the two main types of Bryophytes.
- Liverworts (Marchantia)
- Mosses (Funaria)
- Hornworts or Anthoceros
3. Differentiate between gametophyte and sporophyte.
- Gametophyte (Undergoes Mitosis): Gamete-producing phase of plants
- Sporophyte (Undergoes Meiosis): Spore-producing phase of plants
| Gametophytic phase | Sporophytic phase |
| Haploid phase, generally autotrophic | Diploid phase, heterotrophic or partially autotrophic |
| Has multicellular sex organs called antheridia | Has a spore-producing structure and archegonia bearing a sterile jacket surrounding the gametes |
| Produces gametes | Produces spores |
| Gametes are produced by mitosis | Spores are produced by meiosis |
| The dominant phase occupies most of the life period | A short-lived phase that remains attached to the gametophyte |
4. Define alternation of generations.
The alternation between two phases in the life cycle between a gametophytic and a sporophytic generation is called alternation of generations.
5. Why are Pteridophytes grouped under Tracheophyta?
Pteridophytes are grouped under Tracheophyta due to the presence of tracheids in their vascular system.
6. Differentiate between Angiosperms and Gymnosperms.
| Gymnosperms | Angiosperms |
| Seeds are naked and not enclosed in an ovary. | Seeds are enclosed in fruit (a mature, fertilised ovary). |
| Independent plants are sporophytes that bear cones where spores develop, which in turn give rise to gametophytes, which in turn bear gametes. | Independent plants are sporophytes that bear flowers where reproductive spores develop, which produce gametophytes that, in turn, bear gametes. |
| Xylem has mainly tracheids usually absent | Xylem has both vessels as well as tracheids. |
7. Give three main differences between dicot and monocot plants.
| Monocot Plant | Dicot Plant |
| 1. Floral parts in three. | Floral parts in five. |
| 2. Parallel venation in leaves. | Reticulate (Netlike) vonation in the loaves. |
| 3. Vascular bundles are scattered in the stem. | Vascular bundles are arranged in a ring. |
| 4. Monocots have adventitious roots. | Dicots possess both tap and adventitious roots. |
| 5. e.g., Sugarcane, wheat, rice, etc. | e.g., Pulses, hard-wood trees, etc. |
8. Name three families of Angiosperms, giving one character of each family.
- Fabaceae – Pea family: includes all the pulses
- Malvaceae – China rose family
- Liliaceae – Lily family
- Poaceae – Grass family: includes cereals
9. Define an animal.
An animal is defined as “a living organism that ingests food and moves.”
10. With examples, name (i) the three kinds of symmetry and (ii) the three grades of organisation met within the Kingdom Animalia.
(i) Types of Symmetry
- Sponges are asymmetrical.
- Cnidaria and Echinoderm larvae are radially symmetrical.
- All other animals are bilaterally symmetrical
(ii) Grades of organisation in Kingdom Animalia
- Cellular level
- Tissue level
- Organ system
11. Explain the term triploblastic.
Triploblastic refers to the number of germinal layers in an embryo, where there are three germinal layers. These three layers are the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm.
12. Name the major non-chordate phyla. Give one characteristic feature and one example of each.
| Name of Phylum | Character(s) | Example(s) |
| Porifera | Body is porous. | Sycon |
| Cnidaria | They have a coelom. | Hydra |
| Platyhelminthes | Dorsoventrally flattened. | Fasciola |
| Aschelminthes | They are round worms and parasitic. | Ascaris |
| Annelida | Metamerically segmented. | Pheretima |
| Arthropods | They have joined legs. | Housefly |
| Mollusca | Soft-bodied animals. | Unio |
| Echinodermata | Exclusively marine. | Starfish |
13. Give one major difference between
(i) Cyclostomes and other fishes
(ii) Chondrichthyes and Osteichthyes, Cite examples.
- Cyclostomes are jawless vertebrates, and other fish have jaws.
- Chondrichthyes are cartilaginous fishes, while Osteichthyes are bony fishes.
14. Why are frogs included in the class Amphibia?
Frogs can live a life on land as well as in water. Their main characteristics are,
- The animal partly lives in water and partly on land.
- Skin smooth or rough, rich in glands.
- Two pairs of limbs; pentadactyl (five-fingered), digits without claws.
- Body with a distinct head and trunk, no neck.
- Two nostrils open into the buccal cavity.
- Tympanum is present on the surface of the body wall.
- Eggs are laid in water.
- In the early stage of life (larvae), they breathe by means of gills, but adults breathe by lungs.
- Heart three-chambered.
- The larval stage is tailed and aquatic.
15. Give two characteristic features of reptiles. Cite examples of five reptiles.
Characteristic features:
- Terrestrial (live on land) or are aquatic (live in water).
- Body covered with horny scales.
- Skin is dry.
- Paired pentadactyl limbs (absent in snakes) with clawed digits.
- The Tympanum is small and depressed (absent in snakes).
- Respiration by lungs.
- The heart is three-chambered but with a partially divided ventricle (4-chambered in crocodiles).
- Their eggs have a leathery shell.
- Examples: Tortoise, turtles, garden lizard (calotes), wall lizard (Hemidactylus), cobra (Naja naja) and crocodile (Crocodilus), and Gharial (Gravialis)
16. Give three features of birds which adapt them to aerial life and give two examples of flightless birds.
- Their body is covered with feathers, and scales are present only on the hind limbs.
- Bones with air spaces to make the skeleton light (pneumatic bones).
- Forelimbs modified into wings for flight.
17. Give three features of mammals and one difference between Prototheria, Metatheria, and Eutheria.
Characteristic features of mammals:
- Body covered with hair.
- Presence of milk (Mammary) glands.
- Sweat and oil glands are present in the skin.
- The body is divisible into head, neck, trunk, and tail; the tail is absent in some.
- External ears (pinna)are present.
- Digits usually end in claws, nails, or hoofs.
- Dentition is the codont (teeth in the sockets of jaw bones) and generally heterodont (four different types).
- Seven neck vertebrae
- Homoiothermal, warm-blooded, and four-chambered heart.
- Testes are extra-abdominal (not within the abdominal cavity) and are contained in scrotal sacs.
- Viviparous give birth to the young; some primitive mammals are oviparous (lay eggs).
- The foetus is nourished by the mother through the placenta.
Difference between Prototheria, Metatheria, and Eutheria.
- Prototheria have no external ear.
- Metatheria have external ears.
- Eutheria have well-developed external ears.
18. Name any five orders of Mammalia. Give one characteristic feature and one example of each.
- Rodentia: Terrestrial herbivores.
- Cheiroptera: Flying mammals
- Carnivora: Flesh-eating animals
- Primates: Have a highly developed brain
- Cetacea: Aquatic animals
- Proboscidea: Large herbivorous animals
- Ungulata: Hoofed animals
