NCERT Solutions for Class 11 Biology Chapter 1 The Living World

NCERT Solution for Class 11 Biology Chapter 1 The Living World:- Chapter 1 of Class 11 Biology, The Living World, is an important topic that introduces the basics of life and its incredible diversity. This chapter helps students understand what makes something "living" and highlights the importance of classifying plants, animals, and microorganisms.

It also explains how scientists use systems like binomial nomenclature to name and organise living beings. Tools such as taxonomic keys and herbaria, which aid in identifying and studying species, are also discussed. If you’re looking for a clear understanding, NCERT Solutions for Class 11 Biology Chapter 1 The Living World can make learning easier and more effective.

The NCERT Solutions for Biology Class 11 Chapter 1 are simple and clear, covering all the questions from the chapter The Living World. The Class 11 Biology Chapter 1 Question Answer guide helps students understand the topics better and solve tricky questions without difficulty. If you need reliable Class 11 Biology Chapter 1 NCERT Solutions, these resources are perfect for quick revision and exam preparation.

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NCERT Solution for Biology Class 11 Chapter 1 

Students can go through the Biology Class 11 Chapter 1 Questions and Answers developed by the faculty of Physics Wallah below

Question 1. Why are living organisms classified?

Answer: A huge variety of plants, animals, and microbes are found on earth. All these living organisms differ in size, shape, colour, habitat, and many other characteristics. As there are large number of living organisms on earth, studying each of them is impossible. Therefore, scientists have devised mechanisms to classify all living organisms. These methods of classification are based on rules and principles that allow identification, nomenclature, and finally classification of an organism.

Question 2: Why are the classification systems changing every now and then?

Answer:  Huge numbers of plants, animals, and microorganisms are found on earth. Many of these have been identified by the scientists while many new species are still being discovered around the world. Therefore, to classify these newly discovered species, new systems of classification have to be derived every now and then. This creates the requirement to change the existing systems of classification.

Question 3. What different criteria would you choose to classify people that you meet often?

Answer: The various criteria that may be chosen to classify people whom we meet often include behaviour, geographical location, morphology, family members, relatives, friends etc.

Question 4. What do we learn from identification of individuals and populations?

Answer: The knowledge of characteristic of an individual or its whole population helps in identification of similarities and dissimilarities among the individuals of similar kind or between different types of organisms. It helps us to classify the organisms in various categories depending upon these similarities and dissimilarities.

Question 5: Given below is the scientific name of Mango. Identify the correctly written name.

Mangifera Indica

Mangifera indica

Answer: In binomial system of nomenclature, the generic name of a species always starts with a capital letter whereas the specific name starts with a small letter. Therefore, the correct scientific name of Mango is Mangifera indica.

Question 6. Define a taxon. Give some example of taxa at different hierarchical levels.

Answer: Taxon can be defined as the taxonomic unit in the biological system of classification of organism. For example a phylum, order, family, genus or species represents taxon. It represents a rank. For example, all the insects form a taxon. Taxon of class category for birds is Aves and taxon of Phylum category for birds is Chordata. The degree of relationship and degree of similarity varies with the rank of the taxon. Individuals of a higher rank, say Order or Family, are less closely related than those of a lower rank, such as Genus or Species.

Question 7. Can you identify the correct sequence of taxonomical categories?

(a) Species → Order → Phylum → Kingdom

(b) Genus → Species → Order → Kingdom

(c) Species → Genus → Order → Phylum

Answer: The correct hierarchical arrangement of taxonomic categories in ascending order is

Species → Genus → Family → Order → Class → Phylum → Kingdom

Therefore, both (a) and (c) represent correct sequences of taxonomic categories. In sequence (b), species should be followed by genus. Therefore, it does not represent the correct sequence.

Question 8. Try to collect all the currently accepted meanings for the word ‘species’. Discuss with your teacher the meaning of species in case of higher plants and animals on one hand, and bacteria on the other hand.

Answer. Species occupies a key position in classification. It is the lowest taxonomic category. It is a natural population of individuals or group of populations which resemble one another in all essential morphological and reproductive characters so that they are able to interbreed freely and produce fertile offsprings. Each species is also called genetically distinct and reproductively isolated natural population. Mayr (1964) has defined species as “a group of actually or potentially interbreeding populations that are reproductively isolated from other such groups”.
In higher plants and animals the term ‘species’ refers to a group of individuals that are able to interbreed freely and produce fertile offsprings. But, in case of bacteria interbreeding cannot serve as the best criteria for delimiting species because bacteria usually reproduce asexually. Conjugation, transformation and transduction, which are termed as sexual reproduction methods in bacteria, also do not correspond to true interbreeding. Thus, for bacteria many other characters such as molecular homology, biochemical, physiological, ecological and morphological characters are taken into consideration while classifying them.

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Question 9.  Define and understand the following terms:

(i) Phylum (ii) Class (iii) Family (iv) Order (v) Genus

Answer.

(i) Phylum

Phylum is the primary division of kingdom. It includes one or more related classes of animals. In plants, instead of phylum, the term ‘division’ is used.

(ii) Class

Class is a taxonomic group consisting of one or more related orders.

For example, the class, Mammalia, includes many orders.

(iii) Family

Family is a taxonomic group containing one or more related genera. In plants, families are categorized on the basis of vegetative and reproductive features.

(iv) Order

Order is a taxonomic group containing one or more families.

For example, the order, carnivore, includes many families.

(v) Genus

Genus is a taxonomic group including closely related species.

For example, the genus, Solanum, includes many species such as nigrum, melongena, tuberosum, etc.

Question 10. How is a key helpful in the identification and classification of an organism?

Answer. ‘Key is an artificial analytic device having a list of statements with dichotomic table of alternate characteristics. Taxonomic keys are aids for rapid identification of unknown plants and animals based on
the similarities and dissimilarities. Keys are primarily based on stable and reliable characters. The keys are helpful in a faster preliminary identification which can be backed up by confirmation through comparison with detailed description of the taxon provisionally identified with. Separate taxonomic keys are used for each taxonomic category like Family, Genus and Species.

Question 11. Illustrate the taxonomical hierarchy with suitable examples of a plant and an animal.

Answer. The arrangement of various taxa in a hierarchical order is called taxonomic hierarchy. The hierarchy indicates the various levels of kinship. The number of similar characters of categories decreases from lowest rank to highest rank. The hierarchical system of classification was introduced by Linnaeus.
The hierarchy of major categories is:
Species —►Genus-►Family —► Order—► Class
Kingdom -4— Phylum or Division
Increasing specificity – ► Decreasing specificity
 

Classification of a plant (Wheat):
Kingdom  –  Plantae
Division   –  Angiospermae
Class         –  Monocotyledonae
Order        –  Poales
Family      –  Poaceae
Genus       – Triticum
Species     –  aestivum
 

Classification of an animal (Housefly):
Kingdom  –   Animalia
Phylum    –   Chordata
Class        –   Insecta
Order       –   Diptera
Family     –  Muscidae
Genus      –   Musca
Species    –   domestica

 The Living World Class 11 Notes Summary

Chapter 1 of Class 11 Biology, titled "The Living World," introduces the basic concepts of biology and the characteristics that define living organisms. The chapter starts by defining what life is and explains that living things have certain features that set them apart from non-living things. These features include growth, reproduction, metabolism, cellular organization, and response to stimuli.

It highlights the importance of classification in biology, which is the way scientists organize living things into groups. This system helps in identifying, naming, and studying organisms more effectively. The chapter discusses the hierarchy of classification, which ranges from broad categories like Domain and Kingdom to more specific ones like Species.

Additionally, the chapter explains the different branches of biology, such as botany (study of plants), zoology (study of animals), and microbiology (study of microorganisms). It also touches on the importance of taxonomy, the science of naming and classifying organisms, which helps in understanding the diversity of life.

The chapter concludes with an overview of the methods used to study living organisms, including observation, experimentation, and the use of modern technology. Overall, this chapter sets the stage for understanding the complexity of life and the scientific methods used to study it, laying the groundwork for more detailed studies in later chapters.

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Class 11 Chapter 1 The Living World FAQs

Q1. Why are living organisms classified?

Ans. For having a huge diversity, the living organism is classified to make it easy to study. 

Q2. What is the name of class 11 biology chapter 1?

Ans. The name of class 11 biology chapter 1 is The Living World. 

Q3. Who is the father of taxonomy?

Ans. Carl Linnaeus, also known as Carl von Linné or Carolus Linnaeus, is often called the Father of Taxonomy.

Q4. What is the living world in biology?

Ans. There are millions of living organisms in the world that sometimes we cannot even see with our naked eye. These organisms are living in various habitats including oceans, forests, lakes, deserts, mountains, and even hot water springs. There are different types of plants, animals, and insects in the world.