1. Numerical taxonomy, also called phenetics, classifies organisms based on:
(A) Evolutionary relationships only
(B) Overall similarity of traits
(C) Fossil evidence only
(D) Habitat preference only
2. Numerical taxonomy was developed by:
(A) Charles Darwin
(B) Carl Linnaeus
(C) Peter Sneath and Robert Sokal
(D) R.H. Whittaker
3. Phenotypic characters used in numerical taxonomy are:
(A) Habitat features only
(B) Only DNA sequences
(C) Fossil records only
(D) Morphological, physiological, and biochemical traits
4. In numerical taxonomy, each character is assigned:
(A) Different weight arbitrarily
(B) Equal weight
(C) Only based on fossils
(D) Only based on habitat
5. Similarity coefficients in numerical taxonomy measure:
(A) Fossil age only
(B) Degree of similarity between organisms
(C) Photosynthesis rate only
(D) Soil nutrient levels
6. The coefficient of similarity ranges between:
(A) 0 and 1
(B) 1 and 10
(C) 0 and 100
(D) 1 and 1
7. In numerical taxonomy, organisms are grouped using:
(A) Soil nutrient gradients
(B) Photosynthesis only
(C) Cluster analysis
(D) Fossil record only
8. A dendrogram represents:
(A) Soil layers
(B) Energy flow in ecosystems
(C) A tree-like diagram showing similarity relationships among organisms
(D) Photosynthesis rates
9. The higher the similarity coefficient, the:
(A) More similar the organisms are
(B) More different the organisms are
(C) More extinct the organisms are
(D) Higher the soil fertility
10. Numerical taxonomy assumes that:
(A) Fossils are unnecessary
(B) Only morphological characters are important
(C) Only molecular data are important
(D) All characters have equal importance
11. Advantages of numerical taxonomy include:
(A) Objectivity and reproducibility
(B) Subjectivity only
(C) Only fossil analysis
(D) Habitat description only
12. Limitations of numerical taxonomy include:
(A) Photosynthesis measurement only
(B) Requires DNA sequencing
(C) Soil analysis only
(D) Not considering evolutionary relationships
13. In cluster analysis, organisms are grouped into:
(A) Energy levels only
(B) Fossil layers only
(C) Habitat types only
(D) Clusters based on similarity
14. Polythetic classification means:
(A) Classification based on habitat only
(B) Classification based on one character only
(C) Classification based on fossils only
(D) Classification based on many characters
15. Monothetic classification uses:
(A) Fossils only
(B) Multiple characters
(C) A single diagnostic character
(D) DNA only
16. In numerical taxonomy, binary scoring is:
(A) Measuring fossil length only
(B) Using DNA sequences only
(C) Assigning 1 if character is present and 0 if absent
(D) Soil testing only
17. Quantitative characters in numerical taxonomy are:
(A) Measurable traits like length, weight, enzyme activity
(B) Presence or absence traits only
(C) Habitat features only
(D) Soil features only
18. Qualitative characters are:
(A) Fossils only
(B) Measurable traits only
(C) DNA sequences only
(D) Presence or absence of a trait
19. Similarity matrices in numerical taxonomy are used to:
(A) Study photosynthesis only
(B) Measure soil nutrients
(C) Calculate similarity coefficients for all pairs of organisms
(D) Fossil dating only
20. Hierarchical clustering results in:
(A) Dendrograms
(B) Energy pyramids
(C) Soil diagrams
(D) Photosynthesis graphs
21. Euclidean distance in numerical taxonomy measures:
(A) Fossil layers only
(B) Similarity coefficient only
(C) Dissimilarity between organisms based on quantitative traits
(D) Soil composition only
22. Jaccard coefficient is used for:
(A) Photosynthesis measurement only
(B) Quantitative characters only
(C) Fossil analysis only
(D) Binary (presence/absence) characters
23. The higher the Euclidean distance, the:
(A) Photosynthesis rate increases
(B) More similar the organisms
(C) Fossil age increases
(D) More dissimilar the organisms
24. Numerical taxonomy is sometimes criticized because:
(A) It ignores phylogenetic information
(B) It uses DNA sequences only
(C) Fossils are required
(D) Soil data is ignored
25. Numerical taxonomy can handle:
(A) Soil data only
(B) Only small data sets
(C) Fossil data only
(D) Large data sets with many characters
26. Polythetic species definition is:
(A) Defined by one character only
(B) Defined by a combination of many characters
(C) Defined by fossils only
(D) Defined by habitat only
27. Monothetic species definition is:
(A) Defined by a single diagnostic character
(B) Defined by multiple traits
(C) Defined by fossils only
(D) Defined by soil adaptation only
28. Numerical taxonomy helps in:
(A) Photosynthesis measurement only
(B) Soil testing only
(C) Objective and reproducible classification
(D) Energy flow study only
29. Phenetic clustering ignores:
(A) Physiological similarity
(B) Morphological similarity
(C) Biochemical similarity
(D) Evolutionary history
30. Advantages of dendrograms include:
(A) Soil layer visualization
(B) Visual representation of similarity relationships
(C) Photosynthesis mapping
(D) Energy flow diagrams
31. Numerical taxonomy is widely used in:
(A) Energy studies only
(B) Photosynthesis only
(C) Soil analysis only
(D) Microbial classification and plant systematics
32. Phenetic classification uses:
(A) DNA only
(B) Quantitative and qualitative characters
(C) Fossil data only
(D) Soil traits only
33. Taxonomic distance is:
(A) Photosynthesis rate
(B) A measure of dissimilarity between organisms
(C) Soil layer depth
(D) Fossil age
34. Numerical taxonomy differs from classical taxonomy in being:
(A) Soil-based only
(B) Subjective and morphology-based
(C) Fossil-based only
(D) Objective and data-driven
35. Dendrogram branch lengths represent:
(A) Fossil age only
(B) Degree of dissimilarity
(C) Soil depth only
(D) Photosynthesis rate only
36. Cluster analysis in numerical taxonomy can be done using:
(A) UPGMA, single linkage, complete linkage methods
(B) Photosynthesis measurement only
(C) Soil nutrient methods only
(D) Fossil dating only
37. UPGMA stands for:
(A) Universal Phylogenetic Genetic Analysis
(B) Uniform Phylogenetic Group Method Algorithm
(C) Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic mean
(D) Unique Pair Group Method Analysis
38. Numerical taxonomy can be applied to:
(A) Plants, animals, microbes
(B) Only plants
(C) Only microbes
(D) Only fossils
39. Binary characters are scored as:
(A) Only fossils
(B) Any value between 0–10
(C) 0 (absent) or 1 (present)
(D) Soil type only
40. Continuous characters are:
(A) Habitat traits only
(B) Binary traits only
(C) Fossil traits only
(D) Quantitative traits measured on a scale
41. Polythetic classification is more realistic because:
(A) Only fossils matter
(B) Single characters are sufficient
(C) Most species cannot be defined by a single character
(D) Only habitat matters
42. Numerical taxonomy is widely used in:
(A) Energy studies only
(B) Soil classification only
(C) Photosynthesis studies only
(D) Microbial identification
43. Distance-based methods in numerical taxonomy include:
(A) Fossil age measurement
(B) Photosynthesis measurement only
(C) Soil nutrient distance only
(D) Euclidean distance and Manhattan distance
44. Similarity-based methods include:
(A) Soil only
(B) Fossil only
(C) Jaccard coefficient and Dice coefficient
(D) Energy flow only
45. Advantages of numerical taxonomy include:
(A) Soil analysis only
(B) Fossil analysis only
(C) Handles large data sets and reduces subjectivity
(D) Photosynthesis only
46. Limitation of numerical taxonomy is:
(A) It uses fossils
(B) It uses DNA sequences
(C) It ignores evolutionary history
(D) It studies energy flow
47. Phenetic dendrograms are also called:
(A) Phenograms
(B) Phylograms
(C) Cladograms
(D) Fossil trees
48. Phenograms show:
(A) Overall similarity without implying ancestry
(B) Evolutionary relationships only
(C) Fossil history only
(D) Soil gradients only
49. Numerical taxonomy assigns equal weight to:
(A) Only morphological characters
(B) All characters
(C) Only molecular data
(D) Only fossils
50. The main purpose of numerical taxonomy is:
(A) Photosynthesis measurement only
(B) Fossil dating only
(C) Objective, reproducible classification based on many characters
(D) Soil analysis only