Heterotrophic Nutrition MCQ Quiz is created out of your Chapter 5 NCERT book for science class 10 cbse board.

Life Processes chapter 5 is a very lengthy chapter which requires strategic method to prpeapre hence we have planned to bring topic wise MCQs and MCQs quiz for easy manage and preparation of the chapter.

The type of questions match perfectly in quality with the question that are been asked in actual examinations. This we can say because of our years of teaching offline.

In this post,

First is Heterotrophic Nutrition MCQs for you to practice and then we have the Heterotrophic Nutrition MCQ Quiz, for you to practice and test your preparation level.

You can jump to the Quiz section directly by clicking of the relevant heading in the Table of contents below.

Table of Contents

Heterotrophic Nutrition MCQs

1. What influences the form of nutrition an organism uses?

a) Only the organism’s size
b) The type and availability of food material, as well as how it is obtained
c) Only the temperature of the environment
d) The color of the organism

Answer: b) The type and availability of food material, as well as how it is obtained

Explanation: As per NCERT , “The form of nutrition differs depending on the type and availability of food material as well as how it is obtained by the organism”. This highlights that multiple factors, not just one, determine the nutritional strategy.

2. Which of the following organisms are examples of those that break down food material outside their body and then absorb it?

a) Ticks and Lice
b) Cows and Lions
c) Cuscuta and Tape-worms
d) Fungi like bread moulds, yeast and mushrooms

Answer: d) Fungi like bread moulds, yeast and mushrooms

Explanation: NCERT mentions, “Some organisms break-down the food material outside the body and then absorb it. Examples are fungi like bread moulds, yeast and mushrooms”.

3. What is a key characteristic of organisms that take in whole food material?

a) They always derive nutrition without killing other organisms
b) They only feed on stationary food sources
c) They break it down inside their bodies
d) They only absorb nutrients from outside their bodies

Answer: c) They break it down inside their bodies

Explanation: As per NCERT , “Others take in whole material and break it down inside their bodies”. This distinguishes them from organisms that break food down externally.

4. What determines what can be taken in and broken down by organisms that ingest whole material?

a) The body design and functioning
b) The organism’s age
c) The weather conditions
d) The organism’s speed

Answer: a) The body design and functioning

Explanation: As per NCERT for organisms taking in whole material, “What can be taken in and broken down depends on the body design and functioning”.

5. Which of the following is a defining feature of the parasitic nutritive strategy?

a) The organism always kills its host
b) The organism breaks down food externally
c) The organism consumes only non-living material
d) The organism derives nutrition from plants or animals without killing them

Answer: d) The organism derives nutrition from plants or animals without killing them

Explanation: As per NCERT this strategy by stating, “Some other organisms derive nutrition from plants or animals without killing them. This parasitic nutritive strategy is used by a wide variety of organisms…”.

6. All of the following are examples of organisms that use a parasitic nutritive strategy, EXCEPT:

a) Ticks
b) Mushrooms
c) Lice
d) Tape-worms

Answer: b) Mushrooms

Explanation: as per NCERT ticks, lice, leeches, tape-worms, and cuscuta as parasitic organisms. Mushrooms, on the other hand, are given as an example of fungi that break down food material outside the body and then absorb it.

7. How does the nature of the food source (stationary vs. mobile) influence nutrition

a) It determines the organism’s color
b) It allows for differences in how the food is accessed and what nutritive apparatus is used
c) It affects only the organism’s size
d) It has no impact on the nutritive apparatus

Answer: b) It allows for differences in how the food is accessed and what nutritive apparatus is used

Explanation: As per NCERT : “For example, whether the food source is stationary (such as grass) or mobile (such as a deer), would allow for differences in how the food is accessed and what is the nutritive apparatus used by a cow and a lion”.

8. Cuscuta (amar-bel) is provided as an example of an organism that primarily obtains its nutrition by:

a) Deriving nutrition from plants without killing them
b) Breaking down food material outside its body and absorbing it
c) Taking in whole material and breaking it down inside its body
d) Consuming only dead organic matter

Answer: a) Deriving nutrition from plants without killing them

Explanation: Cuscuta (amar-bel) is explicitly listed as an example of an organism that uses the “parasitic nutritive strategy,” which involves deriving “nutrition from plants or animals without killing them”.

9. What is the fundamental concept in “Heterotrophic Nutritional Strategies”?

a) The process of photosynthesis in plants
b) The importance of water for all living organisms
c) The diverse ways organisms obtain and use food based on their environment and adaptations
d) The classification of all known animal species

Answer: c) The diverse ways organisms obtain and use food based on their environment and adaptations

Explanation: Each organism is adapted to its environment. The form of nutrition differs depending on the type and availability of food material as well as how it is obtained by the organism”, and then proceeds to detail a “range of strategies by which the food is taken in and used by the organism”.

10. Which nutritional strategy involves the absorption of pre-digested food?

a) Taking in whole material
b) Breaking down food material outside the body
c) Parasitic nutritive strategy
d) Autotrophic nutrition (Not in sources)

Answer: b) Breaking down food material outside the body

Explanation: As per NCERT , “Some organisms break-down the food material outside the body and then absorb it”. This implies that the food is digested externally before absorption.

11. A cow, mentioned in the source, likely obtains its nutrition by:

a) Breaking down food outside its body
b) Deriving nutrition parasitically
c) Absorbing nutrients from the air
d) Taking in whole material and breaking it down inside its body

Answer: d) Taking in whole material and breaking it down inside its body

Explanation: The NCERT book contrasts a cow (which eats grass) with a lion (which eats deer) in terms of nutritive apparatus based on stationary vs. mobile food. Both would take in whole material. The Chapter – Life Processes generally describes “Others take in whole material and break it down inside their bodies,” which applies to consumers like cows and lions, as opposed to fungi or parasites.

12. The NCERT Book highlights that “Each organism is adapted to its environment.” How does this relate to its nutritional strategy?

a) Adaptation ensures all organisms eat the same food.
b) Adaptation influences the specific form of nutrition and how food is obtained.
c) Adaptation means organisms can survive without any food.
d) Adaptation refers only to physical characteristics, not diet.

Answer: b) Adaptation influences the specific form of nutrition and how food is obtained.

Explanation: The very first sentence states, “Each organism is adapted to its environment. The form of nutrition differs depending on the type and availability of food material as well as how it is obtained by the organism”, directly linking adaptation to nutritional strategy.

13. Which of the following pairs correctly represents an organism and its primary nutritional strategy as described in the source?

a) Bread moulds: Takes in whole material
b) Lice: Parasitic nutritive strategy
c) Lion: Breaks down food outside the body
d) Yeast: Derives nutrition without killing

Answer: b) Lice: Parasitic nutritive strategy

Explanation: As per NCERT “lice” as an example of organisms using the “parasitic nutritive strategy”. Bread moulds and yeast break down food outside the body, and a lion takes in whole material.

14. If an organism’s food source is stationary, like grass, what might this suggest about its nutritional approach compared to an organism eating mobile food?
a) It must be a parasitic organism.
b) It will use the exact same nutritive apparatus as an organism eating mobile food.
c) It will likely have differences in how food is accessed and the nutritive apparatus used.
d) It will only absorb nutrients externally.

Answer: c) It will likely have differences in how food is accessed and the nutritive apparatus used.

Explanation: As per NCERT : “whether the food source is stationary (such as grass) or mobile (such as a deer), would allow for differences in how the food is accessed and what is the nutritive apparatus used by a cow and a lion”. This indicates that the nature of the food source directly influences the methods of obtaining it.

15. What is the main distinction highlighted between fungi (like mushrooms) and animals (like cows or lions) in terms of their feeding mechanism?

a) Fungi break down food externally before absorbing it, while animals take in whole material and break it down internally.
b) Animals exclusively consume plants, while fungi consume animals.
c) Fungi are always smaller than animals.
d) Fungi can move to find food, while animals cannot.

Answer: a) Fungi break down food externally before absorbing it, while animals take in whole material and break it down internally.

Explanation: The NCERT Book categorizes fungi (like mushrooms) as organisms that “break-down the food material outside the body and then absorb it”. In contrast, it refers to organisms that “take in whole material and break it down inside their bodies”, which implicitly includes animals like cows and lions that consume whole food items.

Related Quiz : Nutrition/Life Processes