300 Biology Trivia Questions and Answers

Biology is studying everything about life and its participants. What do you know about life and its participants? From cells, photosynthesis, ecology, botany, evolution, genetics, DNA to viruses and bacteria, biology is undoubtedly one of the most interesting subjects.

Thanks to biology, we understand how food moves from the mouth all the way to the small intestines, how many bones an adult human has, how important carbon dioxide is for that beautiful green plant on your balcony, and many other things.

Biology Trivia Questions and Answers

How much do you know as far as this field of science is concerned? Well, knowing that the heart beats 72 times per minute, and it has four ventricles is not enough. There’s so much to learn and our trivia questions will definitely help you, whether you want to remind yourself what you learned in school or you have an upcoming biology test, and you really want to ace it.

These trivia questions will come in handy as you spend quality time with your family and friends during the weekends. High school students will benefit so much from them and the next time they have a quiz in class,  they’ll definitely show off with nothing but the correct answers only.

Where’s your lab coat? Let’s get into action already and see what your score would be!

1. What is the most common element in the human body?

Oxygen

 

2. What is another name for the voice box?

Larynx

 

3. Hansen’s disease is more commonly known by which name?

Leprosy

 

4. What is the scientific term for the production of light by living organisms?

bioluminescence

 

5. About how long is the human small intestine?

18 Feet

 

6. Botany is the study of what life form?

Plants

 

7. Unlike most other fish, sharks have no?

bones

 

8. What is the process of breaking down food called?

Digestion

 

9. What is the human body’s largest organ?

Skin

 

10. What human organ cleans fifty gallons of blood every day?

Kidneys

 

11. Where would you find the Nazca Lines?

Peru

 

12. True or false: snails have teeth

True

 

13. How many gallons of water can a baobab tree store in its trunk?

32,000 gallons

 

14. What is a “jonquil”?

A Garden Plant

 

15. What part of the human body is the Mandible?

Lower Jawbone

 

16. What illness accounted for 40 percent of U. S. military casualties during World War I?

Influenza

 

17. What is the expected time an organism will live called?

Life Span

 

18. How many bones does an adult human have?

206

 

19. Which organ do insects NOT have?

Lungs

 

20. What are the tiny blood vessels that connect arteries and veins?

Capillaries

 

21. True or false: jellyfish have hearts

False

 

22. What living animal has the heaviest brain?

Sperm Whales

 

23. What are chitterlings?

The Intestines Of A Pig

 

24. Which French microbiologist discovered the process of pasteurization?

Louis Pasteur

 

25. What is the scientific term for an apparent “throwback” characteristic of an organism that reveals a trait of an earlier ancestor?

Atavism

 

26. What part of the plant gets water and nutrients to the rest of the plant?

Stem

 

27. What year was the first animal cloned?

1996

 

28. What is the waxy covering on plant leaves?

Cuticle

 

29. Who discovered penicillin?

Alexander Fleming

 

30. Which of the following has more bones? Adult, Baby, Teenager

baby

 

31. Which is the sheet-like muscle at the bottom of a human chest?

Diaphragm

 

32. When was the Human Genome project completed?

2003

 

33. What was the first genetically engineered organism?

Tobacco plant

 

34. What do poachers seek when they kill elephants for their tusks?

Ivory

 

35. How many species are estimated to live on Earth?

8.7million

 

36. How many functions does the human liver have?

More than 500 separate functions

 

37. What takes up 50-70 percent of a whale’s weight?

Blubber

 

38. A DNA molecule is described as being in what shape?

Double helix

 

39. Which of the following has the longest recorded life span?

Freshwater Oyster

 

40. The first vaccine targeted which disease?

Smallpox

 

41. Heterochromia results in which change in physical appearance?

Different colored eyes

 

42. What is the only human body part that can’t repair itself?

Teeth

 

43. What science word means “to group”?

Classify

 

44. Crohn’s disease is part of which disease group?

Inflammatory bowel disease

 

45. Which fruit is a hybrid of the pomelo and mandarin?

The orange

 

46. What body system is the human heart part of?

Circulatory System

 

47. How many neck vertebrae do giraffes have, compared to a human’s seven?

Seven

 

48. What type of organism makes up the oldest known fossil?

Blue-green algae

 

49. What vitamin does the sun’s ultraviolet rays help the skin produce?

Vitamin D

50. Which food substance helps move waste through the body?

Fibre
51. What does the Scoville Heat Unit Scale measure?

The pungency (spicy heat) of chilli peppers

 

52. What makes up about 70 percent of most living things?

Water

 

53. The term ‘renal’ refers to which organs?

Kidneys

 

54. Is a tomato a fruit or vegetable?

A fruit

 

55. What is the largest crocodilian in the world?

Saltwater Crocodile

 

56. What is the name of the biggest part of the human brain?

The cerebrum

 

57. What is the collective name of animals and plants that live on a lake bottom?​​​​​​​

Benthos

 

58. Fish take in oxygen through their gills; what do insects take in oxygen through?

Spiracles

 

59. Can cell walls be found in plant cells, animal cells or both?

Plant cells

 

60. What is the hardest substance in the human body?

Tooth enamel

 

61. What is the correct plural of Keeshond?

Keeshonden

 

62. What is the phobia of eyes called?

Ommetaphobia

 

63. What is the largest living structure on Earth?​​​​​​​

The Great Barrier Reef

 

64.  What is the biggest artery in the human body?

Aorta

 

65.  What gives blood its red color?

The porphyrin ring attached to iron in Hemoglobin

 

66. In terms of attributed human deaths which are more dangerous; snakes, bees, sharks or house flies?

House flies

 

67. What fluid-filled sac surrounds the human embryo?

Amniotic Sac

 

68. Which is the hardest bone in the human body?

The jawbone

 

69. What is the oldest living thing known on Earth?​​​​​​​

A bristlecone pine in California

 

70. Which is a tiny structure located in the cytoplasm of a cell?

Ribosome

 

71. How many gallons of blood are in the human body?

1.2-1.5 gallons or ten units

 

72. Where are the three smallest bones in the human body? What are they called?

The middle earmalleus (hammer), incus (anvil) & stapes (stirrup)

 

73. What happens to your skin’s blood vessels as you exercise?

They Widen

 

74. Which organ in the body can process pain but cannot feel it?

The brain

 

75. What is the world’s tallest grass?

Bamboo

 

76. What powdery substance contains the male sex cells of a flower?

Pollen

 

77. How many bones are we born with, and how many does it reduce to?

300 at birth, this reduces to 206

 

78. Which Australian timber made the London docks?

Turpentine

 

79. What are the members of a single type of living organism in an ecosystem called?

Population

 

80. Nucleus + Cytoplasm = ?

Protoplasm

 

81. What is the longest type of cell in the body?

The nerve cell

 

82. What snail-shaped organ in the ear funnels sounds to the auditory nerve?

Cochlea

 

83. What is the lipid membrane model of the cell membrane called?

The fluid mosaic model

 

84. What is a xylem?​​​​​​​

The hollow woody tissue in plants that carries water and minerals

 

85. What kingdom would a human be in?

Animal

 

86. What part of the cell’s covering do plant cells have that animal cells don’t?

Cell wall

 

87. What is pyrogen?

A substance produced by bacteria, that causes fever

 

88. What is a full set of bones called?

Skeleton

 

89. Which protein helps in the degradation of aged and damaged cells by targeting them to be destroyed?

Ubiquitin

 

90. What is the scientific name of a Sydney Blue Gum?​​​​​​​

Eucalyptus saligna

 

91. From what tree did aspirin originally derive?

Willow

 

92. How many different cells are there in our body?

200

 

93. Which is the only Australian mammal restricted to alpine environments?​​​​​​​

The Mountain Pygmy Possum

 

94. What was the largest living creature of the twentieth century?

Blue Whale

 

95. Which branch of science helps us take a closer look at cells?

Microscopy

 

96. What is the name given for the black & white disc used in determining water turbidity?

A Secchi disc

 

97. What organ filters blood and helps regulate salt and water levels?

Kidneys

 

98. Which cells make new bones?

Osteoclasts

 

99. Why does eyesight change as you get older?

The eye’s lens continues to grow throughout life, becoming thicker and less transparent.

100. What process produces a duplicate of the original cell?

Mitosis

 

101. What are the important biomolecules?

Proteins, Nucleic Acids, Carbohydrates and Lipids

 

102.  Do you have the same number of neck vertebrae as a giraffe?

Yes

 

103. What is the cell where a virus reproduces called?

Host Cell

 

104. Are all proteins enzymes?

No

 

105. What is the smallest living mammal?

The Etruscan Shrew at about 2.5cm

 

106. What is the Japanese word for “dog”?

Inu

 

107. Which is the division of chemical biology that studies sugar molecules?

Glycobiology

 

108. Which two mammals lay eggs?

The echidna and the platypus

 

109. By what process do plants use chlorophyll to make glucose, a food sugar?

Photosynthesis

 

110. What is the enzyme that facilitates the transfer of a phosphate group to a protein substrate?

Kinase

 

111. How many known species of fish live in the ocean?

228,450

 

112. What forms the outer boundary of a cell and controls material moving in and out of the cell?

Cell Membrane

 

113. What is the name of the protein that was taken from a jellyfish, which helps visualize proteins under a microscope?

Green fluorescent protein

 

114. What is the largest known insect?

The Phryganistra chinensis Zhao

 

115. What is the outer skeleton of organisms such as spiders and insects called?

Exoskeleton

 

116. What type of octopus is capable of imitating jellyfish, sea snakes, and flounders?

The mimic octopus

 

117. Which mammal can fly?

The Bat

 

118. What is the tube that carries food into the stomach called?

Esophagus

 

119. What are the two pom-poms of boxer crabs?

Anemones

 

120. What is the top speed of a cheetah?

120 km/h

 

121. Which cell part is responsible for controlling most of the activity inside a cell?

Nucleus

 

122. What is the name of a water-dwelling animal that looks like it’s wearing lipstick?

Red-lipped batfish

 

123. What do you call a cross between a tiger and a lion?

Liger

 

124. What is the leading male or female called in a pack of wolves?

Alpha

 

125. Which fish was awarded the title of the world’s ugliest animal?

Blobfish

 

126. When was the structure of DNA discovered?

1953

 

127. What does ER (of a cell) stand for?

Endoplasmic Reticulum

 

128. Who is the Father of modern marine biology?

James Cook

 

129. What is studied in forensic palynology?

Pollen and spores

 

130. What is the only canine that can climb trees?

Gray Fox

 

131. Are all invertebrates cold-blooded?

Yes

 

132. What is studied in forensic entomology?

Insects

 

133. How many bones are in each finger, except the thumb, of a human hand?

Three

 

134. What is the branch of science that studies plants called?

Botany

 

135. The name rhinoceros comes from two ancient Greek words meaning what?

Nose-horn. Rhino means nose, and keras means horn

 

136. What are the gaps between nerve cells called?

Synapses

 

137. Which part of the plant cell is used for storage?

Vacuoles

 

138. Sometimes two different living things live together and have very close relationships. What do scientists call this?

Symbiosis

 

139. What is the outside covering of a plant’s root called?

Root Epidermis

 

140. Which component of a plant cell helps in photosynthesis?

Chloroplasts

 

141. True or False: The “fresh” smell after it’s been raining comes from trees breathing

False

 

142. What substance in your ears helps keep germs and dirt out?

Earwax

 

143. What type of organism is a plant, in terms of cells?

Multi-cellular

 

144. Most of the Earth’s oxygen is made by one kind of living thing. Which kind of living thing is it?

Plankton

 

145. What is the sticky part of the pistil called?

Stigma

 

146. What is the scientific name of one of the rarest plants in the world, which is also known as the corpse plant? Where can it be found?

Rafflesia arnoldii

 

147. Some dinosaurs survived the extinction event 65 million years ago, and persist on Earth to this day. What do we call them?

Birds

 

148. Where in the human body are the anvil and stirrups located?

Ear

 

149. Why is the Dragon’s Blood Tree, which is found on an island in Yemen, called so?

Its sap is blood-red in color

150. Which is the world’s largest living thing? An animal, fungus, plant, or bacteria?

Fungus

151. What is the fin on the backs of fish, some whales and dolphins called?

Dorsal Fin

 

152. Which plant is known as Monkey Cups and is a carnivore?

Nepenthes

 

153. The scientific study of animals is called?

Zoology

 

154. Where does the zygote of a gymnosperm develop?

In The Ovule

 

155. What is the hair-like structure that occurs on plants, which are similar to the one seen on mammals?

Trichomes

 

156. True or false: We find more shark-tooth fossils than shark-bone fossils.

True

 

157. What is the nerve that helps transmit sound signals to your brain?

Auditory

 

158. What plant is considered to be a living fossil and is said to survive for 1000 to 2000 years with just around three inches of rain a year?

Welwitschia mirabilis

 

159. True or false: Cabbage, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, kale, and cauliflower were all bred from the same wild plant.

True

 

160. What is the name for a virus that infects a bacteria?

Bacteriophage

 

161. What is the name of the purple-colored flower that loves the shade and is scientifically called Torenia?

Wishbone flower

 

162. From how far away can a blue whale hear sounds?

160 km

 

163. What “trapdoor” on your windpipe helps keep out food particles?

Epiglottis

 

164. What are flowering plants called?

Angiosperms

 

165. The brain is divided into how many lobes?

4

 

166. What flower name is similar to the processor we use in our electronic gadgets?

Snapdragon

 

167. What is a cell that provides energy for another organism called?

Host Cell

 

168. When we cut onions, we start tearing up. Which chemical compound is the culprit behind this?

Sulfuric compounds

 

169. How many joints does an ant have in each leg?

Three

 

170. Which plant bulbs were valued more than gold in the 1600s?

Tulip

 

171. What openings in a leaf allow gas exchange?

Stomata

 

172. Which scientist is best known for his theory of evolution by natural selection, which is the foundation of modern evolutionary science?

Charles Darwin

 

173. What is the substance that cell walls in green plants are made of?

Cellulose

 

174. To which process of programmed cell death, often recognized by blebbing and DNA fragmentation, does the average human lose around 50 billion cells a day?

Apoptosis

 

175. Which of the following words refers to a baby shark?

A pup

 

176. A person who specializes in the study of plants is called what?

Botanist

 

177. Which scientist was the first person to see bacteria?

Anton van Leeuwenhoek

 

178. Which of the following terms refers to a DNA change that leads to a new characteristic?

A mutation

 

179. What type of muscle bends a joint in the body?

Flexor

 

180. What is the tubelike elongated mouthpart of a butterfly called?

Proboscis

 

181. The Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was the first person to observe which microorganism?

Bacteria

 

182. What nerve tissue transmits light signals from your eye lens to the brain?

Retina

 

183. Ants have a hard outer shell on their bodies which acts as an exoskeleton and enables them to do what that seems remarkable to humans?

lift 20 times their weight

 

184. Photosynthesis mostly occurs in which part of plants?

Leaves

 

185. Which doctor or team of doctors is credited with pioneering the scientific study of human sexuality?

Masters And Johnson

 

186. What type of skeleton do humans and most vertebrates have?

Endoskeleton

 

187. Mycology is the branch of biology that studies what?

Fungi

 

188. What do conifers use to hold seeds?

Pine Cones

 

189. Born in Sweden, he is known as the “father of taxonomy”. Who is he?

Carolus Linnaeus

 

190. Which of the following terms refers to animals that eat both animals and plants?

Omnivores

 

191. What do we call the teeth we grind our food with?

Molars

 

192. Which pair of compounds can be classified as inorganic?

water and salts

 

193. What is a deciduous plant?

A plant that loses all leaves each year

 

194. What caused the Irish potato famine of the 1840s?

Blight

 

195. What can children with the rare genetic disease phenylketonuria not eat?

Foods high in protein

 

196. Which of the following big cats is the fastest animal on land?

Cheetah

 

197. What connects flower buds to the stem?

Sepals

 

198. Which organism does not require oxygen for growth?

anaerobic

 

199. We can find wild bonobos, chimpanzees, and gorillas on which continent?

Africa

200. What is made by white blood cells to help fight off infection?

Antibody

201. What is the substance cells use as an immediate source of energy for themselves?

adenosine triphosphate

 

202. Unlike most species of fish, which body part does not exist in sharks?

Bones

 

203. What does the substance melanin control?

Color Of The Skin

 

204. What is the leaf of a fern called?

Frond

 

205. What is the name of the pigment-containing organelles in autotrophs that collect light energy?

chloroplasts

 

206. What is the smallest unit that can carry out life functions?

Cell

 

207. What is the name of the largest shark?

Whale Shark

 

208. How do enzymes catalyze reactions?

They change the activation energy

 

209. Which of the following vitamins is needed for the process of blood clotting?

Vitamin K

 

210. What is the largest known spider in the world?

Goliath Bird-Eating Spider

 

211. All carbohydrates contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. All proteins contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and what other element?

Nitrogen

 

212. The most severe competition for space, light, and food occurs in?

Closely related species growing in the same niche or area

 

213. What are the tiny air sacs in the lungs called?

Alveoli

 

214. What is the life process used by cells to produce energy (in the form of adenosine triphosphate, or ATP) for cellular activities called?

Cellular respiration

 

215. What is an ecosystem comprised of?

A biotic community and non-living elements

 

216. How many stages are in a butterfly’s life cycle?

4

 

217. What is the scientific name for the forepaw of a cat?

manus

 

218. Which four letters in the English alphabet are used to denote the genetic code?

A T C G

 

219. What light-sensitive cells in the eye detect colors?

Cones

 

220. ATP stands for what?

Adenosine triphosphate

 

221. What is the basic unit of classification in biology?

Species

 

222. What kind of plant stem is soft and green?

Herbaceous

 

223. The second type of programmed cell death literally translates as ‘self-devouring. What is this process, the discovery of the mechanism of which won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2016?

Autophagy

 

224. What is the organic compound that provides energy in living cells?

ATP

 

225. What part of the brain is responsible for vision?

Occipital

 

226. What is the name of the much-beloved fruit fly?

Drosophila melanogaster

 

227. Which of the following animals belongs to the cetacean family, which also includes dolphins?

Whales

 

228. What do you count on a tree to tell how old it is?

Rings

 

229. All vertebrates have hearts that are located in the front part of their body, and are always surrounded by a protective sac with what name?

Pericardium

 

230. The human brain can generate enough electricity to?

Power a lightbulb

 

231. What part of the brain controls hunger?

Hypothalamus

 

232. Amoebas engulf their food by sticking out finger-like projections called pseudopodia. What is this process called?

phagocytosis

 

233. Benthos is the collective name of plants and animals that live on the bottom of?

A Lake

 

234. With what process do living creatures make more of themselves?

Reproduction

 

235. In a human, what area of the body is sphenoid bone closest to?

the side of the head

 

236. What is considered to be the largest living structure existing on Earth?

The Great Barrier Reef, Australia

 

237. What is on your tongue that allows you to taste the differences in different foods?

Taste Buds

 

238. Neurones carry nerve impulses around the human body. What are the gaps between these neurones called?

Synapses

 

239. Which ancient philosopher was the first one to propose the biological classification of animals and plants?

Aristotle

 

240. Trisomy-21 is popularly known as what?

Down Syndrome

 

241. What’s the cure for Down syndrome?

There is no cure for Down syndrome

 

242. Most of the enzymes in the body are made of what?

Proteins

 

243. What is an urolith?

A Bladder Stone

 

244. Which are the four most abundant elements in living cells?

carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen

 

245. Why can bats fly in dark?

Because they produce ultrasonic waves

 

246. What is the basic unit of function and structure in living organisms?

Cells

 

247. In what country was the horse first domesticated?

Kazakhstan

 

248. What is the definition of pollination?

The transfer of pollen to stigma from anther

 

249. What is an algal bloom that occurs in saltwater called?

Red Tide

250. What is the name of the inner membrane of an organism that contains a developing fetus and its protective fluid?

amnion

251. From where do plants get most of their nutrients?

Light

 

252. What does an ornithologist study?

Birds

 

253. There are many chemical reactions that occur in the body. What broad term is used to include them all?

metabolism

 

254. Which animal is considered the most highly intelligent mammal?

Dolphins

 

255. Which nutrient group is used to help grow and repair cells?

Proteins

 

256. What disorder is caused by having three copies of chromosome 21?

Down syndrome

 

257. In addition to malaria, Anopheles mosquitoes also spread which of the following diseases?

Filariasis

 

258. What grows from an acorn?

Oak Tree

 

259. Charles Darwin, famous for his description of natural selection as a guiding mechanism of evolution, was also an expert on what organisms?

barnacles

 

260. During the process of photosynthesis, oxygen is released from what?

Water

 

261. What does the zygote form once it starts mitosis?

Embryo

 

262. The conversion of unsaturated fats into saturated fats by the addition of hydrogen is a by-product of which process?

Hydrogenation

 

263. Robert Gallo was one of the pioneers n the identification of which virus?

HIV

 

264. What natural biological defense system protects the body from disease and fights off germs?

Immunity

 

265. Why does water provide a relatively stable external environment for aquatic organisms?

Its temperature varies much less than air temperature

 

266. What is the world’s largest invertebrate?

Giant squid

 

267. How many bones are in a giraffe’s neck?

7

 

268. A concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood stimulates the breathing center in which part of the body?

Medulla Oblongata

 

269. What three-letter word is the name given to the mating season of deers?

Rut

 

270. What layer of the skin is just below the surface?

Dermis

 

271. What is an oily or waxy organic compound called?

Lipid

 

272. What P-word describes an animal’s tail with the ability to grip?

Prehensile

 

273. What is the name of the sugary substance that many insects get from flowers?

Nectar

 

274. How many bones does a hand contain?

27

 

275. What G-word is the name of the organ in a bird’s body that grinds the food?

Gizzard

 

276. What are the small bones that make up a backbone called?

Vertebrae

 

277. Who was the first person to realize that plants absorb oxygen at night and carbon dioxide during the day?

Jan Ingenhousz

 

278. Which name is given to the heart chamber which receives blood?

Atrium

 

279. What is a young bear called?

Cub

 

280. Name the five processes involved in holozoic nutrition in the correct order of execution.

ingestion, digestion, absorption, assimilation, egestion

281. Which glands produce white blood cells?

Lymph glands

 

282. What are plants that grow, reproduce and die all in one season called?

Annuals

 

283. Plants may respond to changes in the environment. These responses are referred to as tropism. If a plant bends towards the light, which type of tropism is the plant demonstrating?

Phototropism

 

284. What’s the medical term for low blood sugar?

Hypoglycemia

 

285. Where in the body is blood produced?

Bones

 

286. What is a group of cells that work together and form an organ called?

Tissues

 

287. Which structure in mollusks contains internal organs below the mantle?

Visceral mass

 

288. What is the most common cancer in the world, that kills almost 1.5 million deaths a year?

Lung cancer

 

289. What part of the flower surrounds the inside parts of the flower?

Petals

 

290. What keeps a duck dry even though it spends almost all its time in the water?

Marchantia

 

291. What is the world’s largest herb?

Banana plant

 

292. What is the outermost covering of trees and some plants called?

Bark

 

293. What is the ring of bones at the hip called?

Pelvic girdle

 

294. What arctic sea whale has one long horn on its head?

Narwhal

 

295. Which groups of words mean the same thing?

autotroph and producer

 

296. The limbs of a corpse become stiff (Latin rigor) and difficult to move or manipulate is a sign of what?

Rigor mortis

 

297. What do many types of birds, such as geese, do just before it begins to get colder?

Migrate

 

298. ‘Iodized’ salts contain the iodine salts of which metal?

Potassium

 

299. Envoid was the first what in the USA?

Birth control pill available

 

300. What is a hominid?

An Upright-Walking Primate

 

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