NEET-UG Biology · Class 12
Adaptations to deserts and high altitude — NEET & JEE Questions
Adaptations to deserts and high altitude is a topic in Organisms and Populations, a Class 12 Biology chapter of the NEET-UG syllabus. TestBudy holds 12 published NEET-UG questions on Adaptations to deserts and high altitude, each with the marking scheme of the real paper. The ideas it examines include How the kangaroo rat survives without drinking, Desert plant tricks: CAM, spines, sunken stomata, What the body does at high altitude.
- questions
- 12
- shown here
- 10
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Key formulas and concepts
The ideas Adaptations to deserts and high altitude is examined on, as they are tagged in the syllabus tree.
- How the kangaroo rat survives without drinking
- Desert plant tricks: CAM, spines, sunken stomata
- What the body does at high altitude
Adaptations to deserts and high altitude MCQs with solutions
10 of the 12 published questions on this topic, exactly as they appear in a test. Answers and worked solutions come with your result rather than on this page.
Which feature helps many desert plants reduce water loss?
- A. Continuously open stomata at midday
- B. Broad thin leaves with exposed stomata
- C. Thick cuticle and sunken stomata
- D. Very high leaf surface area
How does the kangaroo rat survive in a desert with little access to drinking water?
- A. Metabolic water plus strong water conservation
- B. It drinks large amounts of surface water daily
- C. It loses dilute urine continuously
- D. It depends on aquatic plants for water
A common desert adaptation that reduces water loss in plants is
- A. a thick cuticle and reduced leaf surface area
- B. very broad thin leaves with many open stomata
- C. absence of any epidermis
- D. continuous stomatal opening at midday
At high altitude, the main environmental challenge for humans is
- A. lower partial pressure of oxygen
- B. complete absence of nitrogen
- C. very high atmospheric pressure
- D. lack of gravity
A desert mammal produces highly concentrated urine. This adaptation primarily helps it
- A. conserve water
- B. increase heat loss by evaporation
- C. remove more water from the body
- D. increase oxygen uptake
Many desert plants open stomata mainly at night and fix carbon using CAM metabolism. The chief advantage is
- A. reduced daytime water loss
- B. higher oxygen loss
- C. elimination of photosynthesis
- D. constant stomatal opening in hot daylight
A person living for weeks at high altitude commonly develops an increased red-blood-cell count. This helps by
- A. raising the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood
- B. lowering haemoglobin concentration
- C. reducing ventilation
- D. eliminating the need for oxygen
Which feature is most useful to a xerophytic plant during prolonged drought?
- A. Sunken stomata
- B. Thin cuticle
- C. Large exposed stomatal pores
- D. Very soft water-rich leaves without protection
A desert animal is nocturnal and remains in a burrow during the day. What combined benefit does this behaviour provide?
- A. Reduced heat load and lower evaporative water loss
- B. Greater exposure to solar radiation
- C. Higher daytime metabolic heating
- D. Greater dehydration
During acclimatisation to high altitude, ventilation initially increases. Why is this useful?
- A. It increases oxygen uptake despite reduced oxygen partial pressure
- B. It raises external atmospheric pressure
- C. It converts nitrogen into oxygen
- D. It prevents haemoglobin from binding oxygen
Common mistakes in Adaptations to deserts and high altitude
Recorded against questions in this topic that are not shown above, so none of these points at an answer you can see on this page.
- Assuming the body responds to low oxygen by reducing its oxygen-carrying capacity.
- Uses one isolated trait without considering the whole adaptive syndrome.
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