NEET UG · Biology · Class 12

Organisms and Populations: NEET previous year questions

31 questions in ten years of NEET, asked in 9 of 10 years. Here is what this chapter tests and how.

Asked in 10 years: 31; 9 of 10 papers
10-year average: 3.0; a paper · 3.3 since 2024 +0.4
Typical range: 2–4; questions a paper; fewest 0, most 6
Weighted estimate: 3.4; model, recent papers count more · about 14 marks

Typical range (fact)
10-year average (fact)
Weighted estimate (model)

Typical range: questions per paper in the middle eight of the ten papers, leaving out the single highest and lowest year (about the 10th to 90th percentile), each paper scaled to 180 questions. The ten-year average and the range are historical fact. The weighted estimate is a model: each paper's share, with recent papers counting more (half-life three years), and dropped syllabus removed. It is a guide to effort, not a forecast.

What to do

How to spend time on Organisms and Populations

Priority

Must do

Among the chapters that held the first half of all NEET questions in ten years. How bands are set

Past questions: 31in 9 of 10 papers
Study plan gives it: 18 hover 12 months; 13 h over 6

Study this chapter →Practise →

Ideas asked most often

Competition Concept (-/-)2×
Per Capita Birth/Death Rates2×
Verhulst-Pearl Logistic Growth Equation2×
Predation Concept (+/-)2×

133 of the 167 ideas in Lumi’s map of this chapter have not been asked or touched in ten years. New questions often come from ideas like these, so learn the whole chapter, not just the list above.

Questions per year

Kind of question

SHARE OF 10 YEARS

Recall36%
Concept19%
Match the lists16%
Calculation10%
Two statements10%
Assertion–reason7%
Application3%

Most common asks: definition recall (4); match list on species interactions (3); numerical (2).

Profile

This chapter in numbers

Where it ranks, how steady it is, and what it costs to study.

Rank, all NEET chapters: #11; of 80 by weighted estimate
Rank in Biology: #10; of 32 chapters
Share of the paper: 1.6%; ten-year average
Busiest year: 2018; 6 questions
Year to year: Some swing; varies by about 1.6 questions
Long-run direction: +0.10; questions per paper, per year
Easy questions: 81%; 6% of ideas rated hard
With a figure: 0%; graph, diagram or structure
Botany / Zoology: 25 / 6; questions by section
Study time: 18 h; 13 h on a 6-month plan
Marks per study hour: 0.79; #1 of 80 chapters
Foundation for others: 15%; of its ideas are used in other chapters

Difficulty, year by year

Each question rated easy, medium or hard against NCERT.

20172
20186
2019
20202
20214
20223
20234
20242
20254
20264

Easy
Medium
Hard

What it asks you to do

SHARE OF QUESTIONS

Recall52%
Concept39%
Calculation7%
Application3%

Coverage

How much of the chapter NEET has used

We split the chapter into 167 ideas. In ten years NEET built a question around 24 of them. Most of the chapter has never been asked, which is why learning it whole beats memorising past questions.

Asked as the main idea: 24
Touched on in a question: 10
Never asked: 133

Topics

What repeats, topic by topic

Questions per topic in each year's paper. Topics that come every year are worth learning first.

Population Interactions · Every year16
121223122
Population Attributes · Every year12
131111112
Organism and Its Environment · Most years3
111

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25’26

Topic	2017	’18	2019	’20	2021	’22	2023	’24	2025	’26	Total
Population InteractionsEvery year	1	2	·	1	2	2	3	1	2	2	16
Population AttributesEvery year	1	3	·	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	12
Organism and Its EnvironmentMost years	·	1	·	·	1	·	·	·	1	·	3

03+questions in that year’s paper

Population Interactions
Expect a one-line factual recall item about Population Interactions; a match-the-columns item (two lists, pick the correct pairing code) is the next most likely shape. Past framings centre on: match list on species interactions; statement i/ii on competition.

Drill down

Topic, idea, question

Open a topic to see every idea NEET tested inside it, then open an idea to read the questions. Each row shows its ten papers.

topicAskedShareYears’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25’26

Open16 · 52%52%9/10222322
14 ideas inside
- Repeated2 · 13%13%2/10
- 2 · 13%13%1/102
- 1 · 6%6%1/10
- 1 · 6%6%1/10
- 1 · 6%6%1/10
- 1 · 6%6%1/10
- 1 · 6%6%1/10
- 1 · 6%6%1/10
- 1 · 6%6%1/10
- 1 · 6%6%1/10
- 1 · 6%6%1/10
- 1 · 6%6%1/10
- 1 · 6%6%1/10
- 1 · 6%6%1/10
Open12 · 39%39%9/1032
Open3 · 10%10%3/10

Squares are the ten papers, 2017 to 2026; darker means more questions. Share is of the level above.

Ideas

The exact ideas NEET has asked

Inside the topics, 27 different ideas were tested. These came more than once, or are new since 2024.

Competition Concept (-/-)2×
statement i/ii on competition
Per Capita Birth/Death Rates2×
numerical
Verhulst-Pearl Logistic Growth Equation2×
graph interpretation of logistic growth
Predation Concept (+/-)2×
statement not connected to an interaction
Competitive Exclusion in GalapagosNew1×
assertion-reason on species interactions
J-shaped vs S-shaped Growth CurvesNew1×
assertion-reason on population growth models
Commensalism Concept (+/0)New1×
identify type of species interaction
Fig and Wasp Co-evolutionNew1×
statement i/ii on species interactions
Pioneers of EcologyNew1×
identify scientist for a discovery
Gause's Principle Limiting ConditionNew1×
statement i/ii on competition
Carrying Capacity (K)New1×
definition recall

Idea	Times	Usually asked as
Competition Concept (-/-)statement i/ii on competition	2	Match the lists
Per Capita Birth/Death Ratesnumerical	2	Numerical
Verhulst-Pearl Logistic Growth Equationgraph interpretation of logistic growth	2	Numerical
Predation Concept (+/-)statement not connected to an interaction	2	One-line MCQ
Competitive Exclusion in Galapagosassertion-reason on species interactions	1	Assertion–reasonNew
J-shaped vs S-shaped Growth Curvesassertion-reason on population growth models	1	Assertion–reasonNew
Commensalism Concept (+/0)identify type of species interaction	1	One-line MCQNew
Fig and Wasp Co-evolutionstatement i/ii on species interactions	1	Two statementsNew
Pioneers of Ecologyidentify scientist for a discovery	1	One-line MCQNew
Gause's Principle Limiting Conditionstatement i/ii on competition	1	Two statementsNew
Carrying Capacity (K)definition recall	1	One-line MCQNew

Every question

Organisms and Populations questions, year by year

The opening words of each question as it appeared in the official paper.

NEET 20264 questions

Q161Consider a population of 10 million cells. Given the per-capita birth rate of 0.002 (per unit time) and the per-capita death rate of 0.002…Numerical
Q163Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion A and the other is labelled as Reason R. Assertion A: The logistic growth…Assertion–reason
Q172Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion A and the other is labelled as Reason R. Assertion A: Abingdon tortoise in…Assertion–reason
Q174Match List-I with List-II. List-I | List-II A. Both species are harmed | I. Predation B. One species is harmed and the other is benefited…Match the lists

NEET 20254 questions

Q97Epiphytes that are growing on a mango branch is an example of which of the following?One-line MCQ
Q133Who is known as the father of Ecology in India?One-line MCQ
Q157Given below are two statements: Statement I: Fig fruit is a non-vegetarian fruit as it has enclosed fig wasps in it. Statement II: Fig…Two statements
Q180Which one of the following equations represents the Verhulst-Pearl Logistic Growth of population?Numerical

NEET 20242 questions

Q115The equation of Verhulst-Pearl logistic growth is $\frac{dN}{dt} = rN\left[\frac{K-N}{K}\right]$ . From this equation, $K$ indicates:One-line MCQ
Q188Given below are two statements: Statement I: Gause's competitive exclusion principle states that two closely related species competing for…Two statements

NEET 20234 questions

Q144Match List I with List II : List I (Interaction) | List II (Species A and B) A. Mutualism | I. +(A), O(B) B. Commensalism | II. −(A), O(B)…Match the lists
Q150Given below are two statements : Statement I : Gause's 'Competitive Exclusion Principle' states that two closely related species competing…Two statements
Q164Match List I with List II. List I (Interacting species) | List II (Name of Interaction) A. A Leopard and a Lion in a forest/grassland | I.…Match the lists
Q187Match List I with List II. List I | List II A. Logistic growth | I. Unlimited resource availability condition B. Exponential growth | II.…Match the lists

NEET 20223 questions

Q103Which one of the following statements cannot be connected to Predation ?One-line MCQ
Q142While explaining interspecific interaction of population, (+) sign is assigned for beneficial interaction, (-) sign is assigned for…One-line MCQ
Q156If '8' Drosophila in a laboratory population of '80' died during a week, the death rate in the population is ______ individuals per…Numerical

NEET 20214 questions

Q127Amensalism can be represented as :One-line MCQ
Q129Inspite of interspecific competition in nature, which mechanism the competing species might have evolved for their survival ?One-line MCQ
Q150In the exponential growth equation $N_t = N_oe^{rt}$ , e represents :One-line MCQ
Q199Match List - I with List - II. List - I | List - II (a) Allen's Rule | (i) Kangaroo rat (b) Physiological adaptation | (ii) Desert lizard…Match the lists

NEET 20202 questions

Q1Which of the following is not an attribute of a population ?One-line MCQ
Q41Secondary metabolites such as nicotine, strychnine and caffeine are produced by plants for their :One-line MCQ

NEET 20186 questions

Q93Which one of the following plants shows a very close relationship with a species of moth, where none of the two can complete its life…One-line MCQ
Q107Which of the following flowers only once in its life-time ?One-line MCQ
Q111Natality refers toOne-line MCQ
Q114Niche isOne-line MCQ
Q153Which one of the following population interactions is widely used in medical science for the production of antibiotics ?One-line MCQ
Q156In a growing population of a country,One-line MCQ

NEET 20172 questions

Q116Mycorrhizae are the example of :One-line MCQ
Q143Asymptote in a logistic growth curve is obtained when :One-line MCQ

Questions from the official NEET UG papers published by NTA (CBSE before 2019). Topic and idea tags, counts and notes are Lumi’s.

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