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JAMB UTME Biology 2012 past questions and answers

This 2012 JAMB UTME Biology set has 40 practice questions. Try these 5 free sample questions, tap a question to reveal the answer and explanation. Then practise the whole 2012 set with instant marking.

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Sample JAMB UTME Biology 2012 questions

1. In a population of insects, a pesticide-resistant variant survives treatment and leaves more offspring than other variants. Over several generations, resistance becomes common mainly because
  1. the pesticide causes every insect to develop the same useful mutation
  2. resistant insects reproduce more successfully and pass on their inherited trait
  3. the insects choose to become resistant when exposed to the pesticide
  4. non-resistant insects deliberately transfer resistance to their offspring

Answer: B. resistant insects reproduce more successfully and pass on their inherited trait

Natural selection increases the frequency of an inherited trait that improves survival and reproduction.

2. A few beetles from a large population colonize an isolated island, and by chance most of them carry a rare allele. Which process can make that allele unusually common in the island population?
  1. Founder effect
  2. Artificial selection
  3. Acquired immunity
  4. Continuous variation

Answer: A. Founder effect

The founder effect occurs when a small founding group carries an unrepresentative sample of the original population's alleles.

3. Which of the following is an example of continuous variation in humans?
  1. Ability to roll the tongue
  2. Blood group
  3. Biological sex
  4. Body mass

Answer: D. Body mass

Body mass varies across a range of values and is influenced by many genes and environmental factors.

4. In a plant, tallness (T) is dominant to shortness (t). If two heterozygous tall plants are crossed, what fraction of their offspring is expected to be short?
  1. 1/2
  2. 3/4
  3. 1/4
  4. All

Answer: C. 1/4

A Tt x Tt cross produces TT, Tt, Tt and tt genotypes, so one quarter are short.

5. A population grows rapidly at first but levels off as food and nesting sites become limited. The population size at which it stabilizes is its
  1. biotic potential
  2. birth rate
  3. carrying capacity
  4. ecological succession

Answer: C. carrying capacity

Carrying capacity is the largest population an environment can support over time with available resources.

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