Class 9 Science Chapter 2 MCQ
Cell: The Building Block of Life | 50 MCQs | 5 Sets
Set 1: Cell Basics and Microscopy
Questions 1–10
1. What is considered the basic structural and functional unit of life?
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Answer: (C) Cell
2. An organism made up of a single cell is called:
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Answer: (B) Unicellular
3. Which of these is an example of a unicellular organism?
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Answer: (C) Bacterium
4. Why can many cells not be seen clearly with the unaided human eye?
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Answer: (A) They are generally very small
5. Who observed thin cork under a microscope in 1665?
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Answer: (B) Robert Hooke
6. What did Robert Hooke see in the cork sample?
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Answer: (C) Box-like compartments
7. Who introduced the term “cell” for the compartments seen in cork?
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Answer: (A) Robert Hooke
8. Which microscope uses electrons to form an image?
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Answer: (D) Electron microscope
9. One millimetre is equivalent to:
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Answer: (C) 1,000 micrometres
10. If 20 cells fit along a field diameter of 4,000 µm, what is the approximate length of one cell?
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Answer: (B) 200 µm
Set 2: Magnification and Cell Membrane
Questions 11–20
11. An eyepiece magnifies 10× and the objective magnifies 10×. What is the total magnification?
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Answer: (C) 100×
12. Besides magnification, which feature helps a microscope distinguish two close points?
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Answer: (B) Resolution
13. Which structure forms the boundary around the contents of a cell?
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Answer: (D) Cell membrane
14. Another name for the cell membrane is:
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Answer: (A) Plasma membrane
15. A selectively permeable membrane:
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Answer: (C) Allows certain substances to pass more readily than others
16. What usually happens to a potato piece placed in plain water?
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Answer: (B) It may swell
17. A potato piece placed in a concentrated sugar solution may:
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Answer: (D) Lose water and shrink
18. The movement of water through a selectively permeable membrane is called:
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Answer: (C) Osmosis
19. Diffusion generally involves the net movement of particles from:
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Answer: (A) Higher concentration to lower concentration
20. Which structure gives plant cells additional rigidity and support?
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Answer: (B) Cell wall
Set 3: Cell Types and Organelles
Questions 21–30
21. The main material in the cell wall of plants is:
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Answer: (C) Cellulose
22. Which of these cells normally lacks a cell wall?
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Answer: (D) Animal cell
23. The jelly-like material filling much of the cell is called:
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Answer: (A) Cytoplasm
24. Which cells generally lack a well-defined, membrane-bound nucleus?
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Answer: (B) Prokaryotic cells
25. The region containing genetic material in a prokaryotic cell is called the:
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Answer: (C) Nucleoid
26. Cells with a well-defined nucleus and membrane-bound organelles are:
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Answer: (D) Eukaryotic
27. Which cell structure is responsible for making proteins?
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Answer: (A) Ribosome
28. Which organelle is commonly called the powerhouse of the cell?
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Answer: (B) Mitochondrion
29. Which organelle modifies and packages many proteins and lipids?
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Answer: (C) Golgi apparatus
30. Which type of cell division usually produces two genetically similar daughter cells for growth and repair?
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Answer: (D) Mitosis
Set 4: Cell Organelles and Their Functions
Questions 31–40
31. Which organelle has ribosomes attached to its surface and helps process proteins?
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Answer: (B) Rough endoplasmic reticulum
32. Which type of endoplasmic reticulum lacks ribosomes on its surface?
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Answer: (C) Smooth endoplasmic reticulum
33. Smooth endoplasmic reticulum is important in the production of:
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Answer: (A) Lipids
34. Which organelle contains digestive enzymes that break down waste materials?
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Answer: (D) Lysosome
35. Lysosomes mainly contain:
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Answer: (B) Digestive enzymes
36. What is a major function of mitochondria?
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Answer: (C) Releasing usable energy through cellular respiration
37. Which molecule acts as an important energy carrier in cells?
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Answer: (A) ATP
38. The folds of the inner mitochondrial membrane are called:
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Answer: (D) Cristae
39. Which organelle contains chlorophyll and performs photosynthesis?
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Answer: (B) Chloroplast
40. Which plastids contain pigments that can give fruits and flowers yellow, orange or red colours?
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Answer: (C) Chromoplasts
Set 5: Vacuoles, Genetic Material and Cell Division
Questions 41–50
41. Which plastids are mainly involved in storing food such as starch, oils or proteins?
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Answer: (D) Leucoplasts
42. A large central vacuole in a mature plant cell helps mainly with:
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Answer: (A) Storage and maintaining cell firmness
43. Which cell structure houses most of the genetic material in a typical plant or animal cell?
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Answer: (B) Nucleus
44. Functional segments of DNA that help determine inherited characteristics are called:
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Answer: (C) Genes
45. What happens to chromatin as a cell prepares to divide?
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Answer: (D) It condenses into visible chromosomes
46. Which type of cell division helps produce cells needed for sexual reproduction?
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Answer: (A) Meiosis
47. One complete round of meiosis normally produces how many daughter cells?
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Answer: (B) Four
48. What happens to the chromosome number during the first meiotic division?
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Answer: (C) It is reduced by half
49. Which scientist is associated with the statement that new cells arise from pre-existing cells?
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Answer: (D) Rudolf Virchow
50. Which statement best expresses a central idea of cell theory?
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Answer: (B) All living organisms consist of one or more cells