We propose a series of questions about biology. How many are you able to answer correctly?
Let’s see 35 interesting questions related to this science , while we put our knowledge to the test and learn very useful facts for board games like Trivial .
- Recommended article: “The 50 main branches of Biology (and their fields of study)”
35 Biology questions
Below are 35 very interesting questions about different aspects of biology , from concepts that are usually explained in high school natural sciences to other curiosities that have always aroused some interest.
1. What is the cell?
The cell is the smallest functional unit of any organism.
There are organisms that only have one cell, called unicellular, such as bacteria and protists.
Others, on the other hand, called multicellular, have thousands of cells, forming organs and tissues that, in turn, make up complex systems. Among them we can find plants, animals and fungi.
Cells can be of various types, depending on their structure and the function they perform.
2. How are prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells different?
The main difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells is that the latter have the genetic material collected in a central structure, called the nucleus. In addition, they present different organelles and constitute different organisms.
Prokaryotic cells are found in organisms belonging to the group of archaea and bacteria. Eukaryotes, on the other hand, are found mainly in plant, animal and fungal species.
3. And the difference between plant and animal cells?
Plant cells are protected by a structure called the cell wall, which gives it a hexagonal shape, and is responsible for offering rigidity to plants.
In addition, inside, there are organelles called chloroplasts, which play a fundamental role in carrying out photosynthesis.
4. Who was Louis Pasteur?
The person of Louis Pasteur has been very important for the creation of modern microbiology and the understanding of the spread of infections.
It was this French chemist and bacteriologist who refuted the idea of spontaneous generation, which held that certain animals, such as rats and flies, were generated suddenly, without anything having generated them.
His greatest milestone is the sterilization of food, which has been baptized as pasteurization in his honor and, thanks to this procedure, we can consume food without worrying about suffering from a life-threatening infection.
5. What does “sterilized” mean?
An object or environment is said to be stylized if any form of microscopic life that could be found in it has been eliminated.
6. Who was Charles Darwin?
Darwin was an English naturalist who laid the foundations for the theory of evolution as we understand it today.
According to him, species are governed by the principles of natural selection, a mechanism which allows the best equipped organisms to survive to adapt to the environment and, if they reproduce, continue the species with its genes.
Living beings are the result of a set of changes that have been taking place over millions of years, which have allowed them to adapt to the demands of the environment or, otherwise, perish without reproducing.
7. What is genetic material?
The genetic material is all the information found in the organism through which the indications of how the traits, structures and other aspects of the individual should be are given.
8. What is a protein?
A protein is a long chain of amino acids that the cell uses to carry out its functions. There are multiple types of proteins, such as ovalbumin, collagen, actin, and myosin, each with different functions.
9. Who was Gregor Mendel?
Gregor Mendel was an Austro-Hungarian monk and naturalist known as the father of genetics. During his lifetime, he investigated how traits were passed on to the next generation by growing pea plants and seeing how their cross-pollination produced offspring.
10. What is a gene?
DNA is a long chain made up of nucleic acids. This chain can be fragmented into pieces which, each one of them, is responsible for the synthesis of a specific protein. These fragments are the genes.
11. What is the cell cycle in eukaryotes?
Eukaryotic cells or cells with a nucleus have a programmed life cycle. The main purpose of this process is to perform its functions, reproduce and die. During division, four phases occur, which can be grouped into two main moments: interphase, which is when the cell prepares for its division, and phase M, when the cell partitions.
12. What are the differences between mitosis and meiosis?
Cells can divide in two ways, both of which have different results.
Mitosis involves the parent cell dividing into two new daughter cells which are identical to the original cell.
In contrast, meiosis, in which four cells are formed, these have only one strand of DNA instead of having both.
13. What is a mutation?
Sometimes the DNA can suffer from errors or alterations in its composition. This causes the damaged fragment or gene to encode information that is different from what it originally contained.
14. What is apoptosis about?
As we have mentioned before, cells form, carry out their functions, reproduce and, eventually, die.
The process by which cell death occurs is called apoptosis, and it can be encoded in the cell’s own material or be the result of processes in which it has been necessary to sacrifice it.
15. What is metabolism?
Metabolism is the set of biochemical and physicochemical reactions that occur inside cells and in the body.
These chemical processes are the basis of life as we know it and allow it to fulfill functions such as growth, responding to stimuli, reproducing, nourishing itself, among many others…
16. What is an ecosystem?
Living beings, whether plants, animals or microorganisms, interact with each other and with the environment they inhabit.
The set of these living beings and their relationship with the environment in which they live is called an ecosystem.
17. What differentiates gymnosperms from angiosperms?
Gymnosperm plants, such as pines, are those plants that do not have showy flowers, while angiosperms, such as geraniums or sunflowers, are characterized by having brightly colored flowers.
18. What differentiates invertebrates from vertebrates?
Within the animal kingdom we can find animals that have a solid structure, however, this can be found inside in the form of bones and spines, as is the case of vertebrates, or outside or in other types of structures, being the case of invertebrates.
19. What types of reproduction exist?
Broadly speaking, there are two types of reproduction:
In asexual reproduction, a single organism is capable of generating a new one, either possessing the same genetic material or, sometimes, a smaller quantity. This is the case for some plants and bacteria.
In sexual reproduction, on the other hand, two organisms intervene to generate a new one that has new genetic material, being a combination of that of its parents. This is the case of the human species.
20. Which bird lays the smallest egg?
It may not be surprising, but the bird that lays the smallest egg is the hummingbird. The size of these eggs is around just one centimeter long and weighs half a gram.
At the opposite extreme, the bird that lays the largest eggs is the ostrich, which can weigh between 1 and 2 kilos, having a size of 20 cm x 15 cm.
However, if the relationship between the sizes of the bird and the egg is observed, the ostrich lays the smallest egg in proportion to its size, weighing only 1.5% of the total of the mother, who can weigh up to 100 kilos. .
Curiously, following this same proportion, the hummingbird’s egg is one of the largest compared to its mother, representing about 20% of its weight.
21. What is the largest fish?
Measuring almost 12 meters, the largest marine animal is the whale shark (Rhincodon typus). Although its size, together with the fact that it is a shark, can be scary, the truth is that this animal is very peaceful, feeding basically on small animals such as plankton or very small fish.
Perhaps it is its size, the fact that it is so peaceful or that it approaches fishing boats to see if it gets any of the loot that has made it a species threatened by human action.
22. Are there mammals that hatch from an egg?
Normally, when thinking of eggs, they are associated with birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates, however, there is a mammalian species that also lays them.
This is the case of the platypus, belonging to the group of monotremes. Although they lay eggs, they are considered mammals because the young feed on their mother’s milk.
The reason for this is that they are a type of mammal that, unlike the rest, could be said to have evolved less in this regard, not abandoning oviparous gestation. Meanwhile, the rest of the mammalian animals gestate either marsupially or placentally.
23. Were dinosaurs cold-blooded or warm-blooded?
After years of research, it has been seen that the bones of these large saurians have intermediate characteristics between those of warm-blooded animals and cold-blooded animals.
However, in 2010, studying the dental enamel of their fossils and seeing the density of rare isotopes (carbon 13 and oxygen 18), it was established that they must have a temperature between 35 and 38 degrees Celsius, confirming that they were warm-blooded.
24. Which animals can be taught language?
It is well known that parrots can imitate human words. That is why it has been tried to find out if it was capable of teaching human language to certain animal species.
Although good results have not been obtained when it comes to teaching an oral language to animals, it has been possible to teach sign language and other gesturalized systems.
Among them are dolphins and, above all, primates, especially gorillas and chimpanzees.
One of the most famous cases is the gorilla Koko, who mastered nearly 1,000 signs.
25. Which is harder, a bone or an exoskeleton?
The exoskeleton is, broadly speaking, the bones of invertebrate animals such as insects, spiders and crustaceans, only it has a different composition and is found on the outside of the animal.
This structure is proportionally harder than the bones that make up the skeleton in vertebrates, suggesting that it could be twice as strong.
The cuticle that forms the exoskeleton has a great capacity to withstand bending and compression forces.
26. Do birds use paths in the sky?
Many birds have marked airways, either to cover long distances or even for routine flights within the same region.
It is believed that the choice of a particular path is due to the fact that they follow wind currents that help them travel more easily, and they know the places where there will be less turbulence.
27. Does the little lights of the fireflies mean something?
The flashes that these insects emit serve to communicate with each other. They do this at different intervals, looking for the right mate.
Each species of firefly has its own light patterns. Interestingly, some species of these insects are capable of imitating these light codes of other species, with the intention of attracting and eating them.
28. Are there animals that play dead?
Many dog owners teach their pets the trick of playing dead, but the truth is that this behavior also occurs in nature.
There are animals that, in the presence of a predator or an animal considered intimidating, lie down on the ground, open their mouths and let their tongues hang out, pretending to be dead.
Many predators prefer fresh meat hunted by themselves rather than feeding on carrion, which may be spoiled. The species that use this evolutionary strategy take advantage of the sybaritism of their predators and thus save their lives.
29. Why do the rooster and other birds crow in the morning?
In the case of the rooster, it is believed that it is simply to start the day and highlight its authority and virility in front of the hens. If when he sings no other male does, his dominance is highlighted. On the other hand, if he meets another rooster crowing, there will be a physical fight, which can end in the loss of a limb or even death.
In other species that live more individually, the song can be a call for mating, considering that the fact that it is done in the morning is due to the fact that at that time there is better acoustics, given that the transmission of sound improves. in environments with low temperatures and high humidity.
30. Is the toucan’s beak a thermostat?
Until relatively recently, it was believed that the long beak of toucans, which can measure about 20 cm, only served as a sexual attraction due to its bright colors and to better eat fruits and the young of other birds.
However, in an investigation carried out ten years ago, it was discovered that it also served to regulate his temperature. If the environment got hotter, the beak also got hotter, while the rest of the body lowered its temperature, cooling down.
31. Why don’t ostriches fly?
These birds are adapted to run fast, but for this they have given up flying. They are capable of exceeding 70 km/h thanks to the fact that they have large and muscular legs, in addition to being able to pounce on their opponent and leave them very badly off.
32. Why do marine mammals go so long without breathing?
Dolphins, whales and sea lions are marine mammals that, despite needing oxygen, feel like a fish in water, literally.
They are physiologically adapted to remain for a long period of time in the water.
They have large lungs and consume 30% less oxygen, having a higher blood volume and more red blood cells compared to other species. They better tolerate the accumulation of lactic acid and carbon dioxide.
33. How do parrots manage to speak if they don’t have vocal cords?
They achieve this thanks to an organ called the syrinx, which is the vocal organ of birds. This device produces complex sounds thanks to the vibration of the air in its cartilaginous walls, being able to imitate voices despite not having vocal cords.
As in the human species, the language of parrots is also used to produce different air outlets and make different sounds.
34. Do animals drink alcohol?
Yes, but they do not do it consciously or voluntarily.
In nature there is a plant, the Sclerocaya birrea, which produces very ripe fruits. When these fruits fall to the ground, they ferment with the heat and obtain a high degree of ethanol, which would allow animals to obtain alcohol naturally.
Some animals, such as wild boars, monkeys and antelopes get drunk with them, although not because they want to.
35. Why do lizards grow back their tails and not their legs?
Lizards, unlike most vertebrates, have the ability to regenerate their tail, although this new tail is smaller and lacks scales and vertebrae.
The reason why the regeneration of its tail is important for the animal is that it helps it to move, in addition to fulfilling an important role during courtship and being a lipid store to be well nourished when there is a period of hunger.
However, they cannot regenerate other limbs, such as legs. This is because the tail has special stem cells for this purpose.
However, the animals that are capable of regenerating various parts of their body are the salamanders, the most surprising case being the fact that they can regenerate parts of their eyes.
Bibliographic references
- Buicán, Denis (1995). History of biology, Madrid, Editorial Accent.
- Mammal anatomy: an illustrated guide. (2020). New York: Marshall Cavendish.
- WWF, Species list: endangered.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.