Classification: NECO Biology Past Questions and Answers

What the WAEC syllabus covers in Classification

Our summary: Telling living from non-living things and sorting organisms into the five kingdoms by their features.

• Living and non-living things (Classification of objects into living and non-living, giving examples of each group. Viruses should be mentioned as a link between living and non living things.)
• Classification of living things into Kingdoms: Monera, Protoctista (Protista), Fungi, Plantae, Animalia (Kingdom Monera (Prokaryotes), single-celled, motile or non-motile organisms without definite nucleus e.g. bacteria and blue-green algae. Major characteristics of the major phyla of Kingdoms Protoctista and Fungi. Kingdom Protista (Eukaryotes), single-celled, motile or non-motile organisms. Cell structure complex with definite nucleus e.g. Chlamydomonas, Amoeba. Major phyla of Kingdom Protoctista include: Rhizopoda, Zoomastigina, Apicomplexa, Ciliophora, Euglenophyta, Oomycota, Chlorophyta, Rhodophyta and Phaeophyta. Kingdom Fungi (Eukaryotes), mainly non-motile organisms composed of hyphae containing nuclei e.g. moulds, mushrooms and Rhizopus. Major phyla of Kingdom Fungi include: Zygomycota, Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. Kingdom Plantae (Eukaryotes), mainly multicellular non-motile organisms which contain chlorophyll that enable them to photosynthesize e.g. mosses, ferns, pines, oil palms and yam plants. Characteristics of the major divisions and classes: Bryophyta (Hepaticae, Musci), Lycopodophyta, Filicinophyta, Coniferophyta, Cycadophyta and Angiospermophyta (Monocotyledoneae and Dicotyledoneae). Kingdom Animalia (Eukaryotes), multicellular motile organisms that feed on other organisms e.g. corals, worms, insects, snails, fishes, frogs, snakes, monkeys, cows. Characteristics of the major phyla and classes of Kingdom Animalia. The external features of the following organisms should be mentioned: cockroach, butterfly, Tilapia, toad/frog, lizard, domestic fowl/pigeon.)
• Differences between plants and animals

Syllabus content © The West African Examinations Council (WASSCE (harmonised West African syllabus)). NECO questions are matched to the WAEC syllabus topic.