Practice tests · NEET

NEET Evolution: 5 practice MCQs with answers

By the PrepMatic team · Updated 9 Oct 2026 · 4 min read

Evolution is a Class 12 Biology chapter that combines facts (experiments, fossils, evidence) with one calculation: the Hardy-Weinberg equation. The five MCQs below cover the Miller experiment, homologous organs, an allele frequency problem, adaptive radiation and natural selection in the peppered moth.

What this chapter covers in the NEET syllabus

Evolution is the second half of the NMC unit Genetics and Evolution, taught in NCERT as the Class 12 chapter Evolution. The topics are:

• The origin of life: theories, the Oparin-Haldane idea and the Miller experiment.
• Evidences for evolution: palaeontological, comparative anatomy and morphology, and biochemical evidence.
• Adaptive radiation and the role of Darwin's finches; Lamarck's theory and Darwin's theory.
• Mechanism of evolution: variation, mutation, natural selection and its types, gene flow and genetic drift.
• The Hardy-Weinberg principle.
• A brief account of evolution, and the origin and evolution of humans.

Five practice MCQs on Evolution

Question 1

In Miller's experiment (1953), which gases were present in the flask along with water vapour at 800 °C under electric discharge?

• A. O₂, N₂ and CO₂
• B. CH₄, H₂ and NH₃
• C. CO, O₂ and H₂S
• D. CH₄, O₂ and N₂

Question 2

The forelimbs of a human, a bat and a whale are examples of:

• A. analogous organs
• B. vestigial organs
• C. homologous organs
• D. convergent evolution

Question 3

In a population in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the frequency of the recessive allele q is 0.3. The frequency of heterozygotes is:

• A. 0.09
• B. 0.49
• C. 0.21
• D. 0.42

Question 4

Different finch species on the Galápagos Islands that evolved from a common ancestor with beaks suited to different foods are an example of:

• A. convergent evolution
• B. adaptive radiation
• C. genetic drift
• D. the founder effect

Question 5

The increase in dark-coloured peppered moths in industrial areas, after tree trunks darkened with soot, is an example of:

• A. natural selection
• B. genetic drift
• C. use and disuse of organs
• D. the founder effect

Answers and explanations

1. B. Stanley Miller created conditions thought to resemble the early Earth, with CH₄, H₂, NH₃ and water vapour at 800 °C and electric discharge, and obtained amino acids. The early atmosphere lacked free oxygen, so every option containing O₂ is wrong.
2. C. The forelimbs have the same basic bone structure (humerus, radius and ulna, carpals, metacarpals and phalanges) but perform different functions. Such organs with a common origin but different functions are homologous, and they show divergent evolution. Analogous organs, such as bird and insect wings, have the same function but different origin.
3. D. p + q = 1, so p = 0.7. The frequency of heterozygotes is 2pq = 2 × 0.7 × 0.3 = 0.42. The homozygous recessive is q² = 0.09 and homozygous dominant p² = 0.49.
4. B. Darwin's finches show adaptive radiation: the evolution of many species from a common ancestor in a geographical area, each adapted to a different habitat or food source. Their beaks vary from seed-cracking to insect-eating.
5. A. Before industrialisation, light-coloured moths were camouflaged on lichen-covered trunks. After soot darkened the trunks, dark moths were better hidden from predators, survived more and increased in frequency. This is natural selection, not a change caused by use or disuse.

How to prepare Evolution

• Make a short chart of the evidence. Fossils (palaeontology), homologous and analogous organs, vestigial organs, embryological resemblance and biochemical similarity, each with two standard examples. Keep the examples NCERT gives.
• Practise Hardy-Weinberg problems until they take a minute. Know the equation p² + 2pq + q² = 1 and the five factors that disturb it (gene flow, genetic drift, mutation, genetic recombination and natural selection). A change in allele frequency means evolution is occurring, which is a common conceptual question.
• Learn natural selection's three types (stabilising, directional and disruptive) with the shift of the population curve for each, and examples such as the peppered moth, antibiotic resistance and DDT-resistant mosquitoes.
• Memorise the human evolution sequence: Dryopithecus, Ramapithecus, Australopithecus, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, with approximate brain capacities given in NCERT.
• Keep scientists and ideas together: Lamarck, Darwin, Wallace, Oparin and Haldane, Miller, Hugo de Vries (mutation theory).

A good plan is to read the chapter once, then spend two sessions on the Hardy-Weinberg problems and the charts. The NEET genetics and evolution guide has more on problem types, and the NEET Biology preparation guide shows where this chapter sits in your schedule.

Take a full Evolution test on PrepMatic

To see where Biology stands overall before you invest more time here, take the free PrepMatic assessment (about 15 untimed questions), which shows your weakest and strongest subjects. After that, a topic test on this chapter takes about 30 minutes. The practice hub has more chapters.

← All practice tests