NEET UG · Biology · Organisms and Populations

Population Interactions: NEET previous year questions

16 questions in ten years of NEET, in 9 of 10 papers. Pattern: Every year. Here is how it is asked and which ideas come back.

Asked in 10 years: 16; about 1.5 per paper
Years asked: 9/10; last asked 2026
Chance of a question next paper: 84%; historical rate, how we compute it
Weighted estimate: 1.7; model; history: 1.5 a paper on average, typically 1–2

Key findings

01
Asked in 9 of 10 papers, 16 questions in all: #26 of 204 topics by ten-year total. It comes back every 1.1 years on average.
02
93% of its questions since 2018 tested an idea never asked before; none repeated an idea from the year before.
03
The most repeated idea is Competition Concept (-/-), asked 2 times (2023, 2026), usually as “statement i/ii on competition”.
04
NEET has asked 14 of the 86 ideas in this topic; 66 have never been asked, directly or indirectly.
05
Mostly asked as one-line MCQ (56%); 75% easy, 0% hard.

Questions per year

Up to 2023: 1.5; per paper
Since 2024: 1.6; 0.2
Usual gap: 1.1 yrs; between papers asking it
Swing: ±0.7; questions, year to year

Recent framings

assertion-reason on species interactions
match list on species interactions
identify type of species interaction

Revise first

Competition Concept (-/-) (2023 2026); Competitive Exclusion in Galapagos (2026); Commensalism Concept (+/0) (2025)

How it is asked

Difficulty, format and skill

Across all 16 questions on Population Interactions since 2017.

Difficulty

QUESTIONS

124

Easy12 · 75%
Medium4 · 25%
Hard0 · 0%

Format

One-line MCQ · 9 Q56%
Match the lists · 3 Q19%
Two statements · 3 Q19%
Assertion–reason · 1 Q6%

Skill tested

Concept · 8 Q50%
Recall · 7 Q44%
Application · 1 Q6%

Repeats

New idea, or one asked before?

Each column is a paper. Blue questions tested an idea NEET had not asked before; navy ones went back to an idea from an earlier paper. 2017 is the first paper, so everything in it counts as new.

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25’26

Idea asked for the first time
Idea asked in an earlier paper

Coverage of the topic

NEET has asked 14 of the 86 ideas in this topic. 66 have never been asked yet.

1466

Asked directly14 · 16%
Touched inside another question6 · 7%
Never asked66 · 77%

Ideas come from Lumi’s syllabus map of NCERT. A never-asked idea is not a safe skip: most new questions come from exactly these.

Drill down

Idea, year, question

Every idea NEET tested in this topic, with its ten papers. Open one to read the questions.

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

Repeated2 · 13%13%2/10
- 2026 · Q174
  Match 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…
  easyMatch the lists
- 2023 · Q150
  Given below are two statements : Statement I : Gause's 'Competitive Exclusion Principle' states that two closely related species competing…
  mediumTwo statementsNew idea
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

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

Ideas

Every idea inside this topic

14 different ideas were tested; 2 came more than once. Mutualism Concept (+/+) is the foundation for 20 other ideas in the syllabus.

Competition Concept (-/-)2×
statement i/ii on competition
Match the lists · 6% next · foundation for 17
Predation Concept (+/-)2×
statement not connected to an interaction
One-line MCQ · 6% next · foundation for 19
Competitive Exclusion in Galapagos1×
assertion-reason on species interactions
Assertion–reason · 6% next
Commensalism Concept (+/0)1×
identify type of species interaction
One-line MCQ · 6% next · foundation for 5
Fig and Wasp Co-evolution1×
statement i/ii on species interactions
Two statements · 6% next · foundation for 2
Gause's Principle Limiting Condition1×
statement i/ii on competition
Two statements · 6% next
Brood Parasitism1×
match list on species interactions
Match the lists · 4% next
Interaction Matrix Decoding1×
match list on species interactions
Match the lists · 4% next
Amensalism Concept (-/0)1×
identify symbol representation of interaction
One-line MCQ · 4% next · foundation for 3
Resource Partitioning1×
identify mechanism for coexistence
One-line MCQ · 4% next
Plant Secondary Metabolites as Defenses1×
identify role of secondary metabolites
One-line MCQ · 4% next
Amensalism: Antibiosis Example1×
identify population interaction by use
One-line MCQ · 4% next
Co-extinction in Obligate Mutualism1×
identify example of obligate mutualism
One-line MCQ · 4% next
Mutualism Concept (+/+)1×
identify example of a type
One-line MCQ · 4% next · foundation for 20

Idea	Times	Format	Chance next	Foundation for
Competition Concept (-/-)statement i/ii on competition	2	Match the listsConcept	6%	17 ideas
Predation Concept (+/-)statement not connected to an interaction	2	One-line MCQConcept	6%	19 ideas
Competitive Exclusion in Galapagosassertion-reason on species interactions	1	Assertion–reasonConcept	6%	–
Commensalism Concept (+/0)identify type of species interaction	1	One-line MCQApplication	6%	5 ideas
Fig and Wasp Co-evolutionstatement i/ii on species interactions	1	Two statementsConcept	6%	2 ideas
Gause's Principle Limiting Conditionstatement i/ii on competition	1	Two statementsConcept	6%	–
Brood Parasitismmatch list on species interactions	1	Match the listsRecall	4%	–
Interaction Matrix Decodingmatch list on species interactions	1	Match the listsRecall	4%	–
Amensalism Concept (-/0)identify symbol representation of interaction	1	One-line MCQRecall	4%	3 ideas
Resource Partitioningidentify mechanism for coexistence	1	One-line MCQConcept	4%	–
Plant Secondary Metabolites as Defensesidentify role of secondary metabolites	1	One-line MCQRecall	4%	–
Amensalism: Antibiosis Exampleidentify population interaction by use	1	One-line MCQRecall	4%	–
Co-extinction in Obligate Mutualismidentify example of obligate mutualism	1	One-line MCQRecall	4%	–
Mutualism Concept (+/+)identify example of a type	1	One-line MCQRecall	4%	20 ideas

Chance next is the historical rate at which an idea with this record came back in the following paper. It is low for every idea, which is why learning the topic beats memorising past questions. All repeated ideas

Every question

Population Interactions questions, year by year

The opening words of each question as it appeared in the official paper, with the idea it tested.

NEET 20262 questions

Q172
Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion A and the other is labelled as Reason R. Assertion A: Abingdon tortoise in…
Idea: Competitive Exclusion in Galapagos
New ideaMediumAssertion–reason
Q174
Match 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…
Idea: Competition Concept (-/-)
EasyMatch the lists

NEET 20252 questions

Q97
Epiphytes that are growing on a mango branch is an example of which of the following?
Idea: Commensalism Concept (+/0)
New ideaEasyOne-line MCQ
Q157
Given below are two statements: Statement I: Fig fruit is a non-vegetarian fruit as it has enclosed fig wasps in it. Statement II: Fig…
Idea: Fig and Wasp Co-evolution
New ideaMediumTwo statements

NEET 20241 question

Q188
Given below are two statements: Statement I: Gause's competitive exclusion principle states that two closely related species competing for…
Idea: Gause's Principle Limiting Condition
New ideaMediumTwo statements

NEET 20233 questions

Q144
Match 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)…
Idea: Interaction Matrix Decoding
New ideaEasyMatch the lists
Q150
Given below are two statements : Statement I : Gause's 'Competitive Exclusion Principle' states that two closely related species competing…
Idea: Competition Concept (-/-)
New ideaMediumTwo statements
Q164
Match 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.…
Idea: Brood Parasitism
New ideaEasyMatch the lists

NEET 20222 questions

Q103
Which one of the following statements cannot be connected to Predation ?
Idea: Predation Concept (+/-)
New ideaEasyOne-line MCQ
Q142
While explaining interspecific interaction of population, (+) sign is assigned for beneficial interaction, (-) sign is assigned for…
Idea: Predation Concept (+/-)
New ideaEasyOne-line MCQ

NEET 20212 questions

Q127
Amensalism can be represented as :
Idea: Amensalism Concept (-/0)
New ideaEasyOne-line MCQ
Q129
Inspite of interspecific competition in nature, which mechanism the competing species might have evolved for their survival ?
Idea: Resource Partitioning
New ideaEasyOne-line MCQ

NEET 20201 question

Q41
Secondary metabolites such as nicotine, strychnine and caffeine are produced by plants for their :
Idea: Plant Secondary Metabolites as Defenses
New ideaEasyOne-line MCQ

NEET 20182 questions

Q93
Which one of the following plants shows a very close relationship with a species of moth, where none of the two can complete its life…
Idea: Co-extinction in Obligate Mutualism
New ideaEasyOne-line MCQ
Q153
Which one of the following population interactions is widely used in medical science for the production of antibiotics ?
Idea: Amensalism: Antibiosis Example
New ideaEasyOne-line MCQ

NEET 20171 question

Q116
Mycorrhizae are the example of :
Idea: Mutualism Concept (+/+)
EasyOne-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.