IMO Practice Test — Structural Organisation in Animals
6 Questions • 15 min • Olympiad level
15:00
Question 1 of 6
Adipose (fat) tissue is grouped under connective tissue mainly because it:
Has cells spaced in a matrix and stores/supports
Covers the body surface
Contracts to cause movement
Transmits impulses
Explanation: Adipose tissue has cells in a matrix and stores fat/insulates — features of connective tissue.
Question 2 of 6
An earthworm is called a 'friend of the farmer' because it:
Burrows and adds castings, improving soil aeration and fertility
Eats crops
Pollinates flowers
Kills pests directly
Explanation: Its burrowing aerates the soil and its castings enrich it, helping plant growth.
Question 3 of 6
The cockroach's open circulatory system means that:
Blood (haemolymph) flows freely through body spaces, not always in vessels
Blood is always inside closed vessels
It has no blood
Blood flows only in the heart
Explanation: In an open system the haemolymph bathes the organs in body spaces rather than staying in vessels.
Question 4 of 6
A frog can survive a dry, hot season buried in mud because it undergoes:
Aestivation (summer sleep)
Hibernation (winter sleep)
Metamorphosis
Moulting
Explanation: Aestivation is the summer dormancy that helps the frog survive heat and dryness.
Question 5 of 6
The frog's moist skin is important because it:
Allows cutaneous respiration (gas exchange through the skin)
Stores food
Produces eggs
Forms the skeleton
Explanation: Gas exchange occurs across the moist skin, especially in water and during hibernation.
Question 6 of 6
Skeletal, smooth and cardiac muscles differ, but all three share the property of being:
Contractile (able to shorten and produce movement)
Voluntary
Striated
Found only in the heart
Explanation: All muscle tissue is contractile; they differ in striation and voluntary/involuntary control.