NEET ZoologyUpdated 19 Oct 2026

Evolution: NEET PYQs and weightage

Evolution carries 7.6 of 100 Zoology marks in NEET by past-paper share: 49 of the 648 tagged NEET Zoology PYQs in the ViJEEta bank (NEET 2013–2026). It ranks 5 of 17 Zoology chapters.

Removed from NEET in this chapter: Theories of Evolution, Speciation. Still in NCERT and school exams, not asked in NEET now.

Take the 25-question Evolution test Key facts ↓All NEET Zoology chapters

7.6/100 Weight in Zoology

Exam importance (5/5, by past-paper share)

49 NEET PYQs

561 Practice questions

438 With measured difficulty

How the weight is computed: this chapter's tagged NEET PYQs divided by all tagged NEET Zoology PYQs in the bank (49 of 648), times 100, with repeated questions counted once. The bank does not store the year of each NEET question, so none is printed. Computed from the bank at build time. Updated 19 Oct 2026.

Evolution: key facts for NEET

16 facts the paper keeps asking, each with how it is asked. Copy it onto one page of your notebook: that page is this chapter's handbook.

Age of Earth and origin of life
Earth formed $\sim 4.5$ billion years ago; life appeared $\sim 500$ million years later, i.e., $\sim 4$ billion years ago (universe $\sim 13.8$ billion years old).
Asked as: "Life appeared on earth approximately how many years after earth's formation?"
Louis Pasteur's experiment
Louis Pasteur: killed yeast in a pre-sterilised flask gave no life, while the flask open to air did; life comes only from pre-existing life, and spontaneous generation was rejected.
Asked as: "Which theory was disproved by Pasteur's experiment?"
Oparin and Haldane
Oparin (Russia) and Haldane (England): chemical evolution (organic molecules from inorganic ones) came before life, in a reducing atmosphere ( $C H_{4}$ , $N H_{3}$ ) at high temperature.
Asked as: match the scientist to the theory, or "Early atmosphere was oxidising/reducing?"
Miller's experiment
S.L. Miller (1953): electric discharge in a closed flask of $C H_{4}$ , $H_{2}$ , $N H_{3}$ and water vapour at $80 0^{\circ} C$ produced amino acids.
Asked as: "Which gas was NOT used in Miller's experiment?" ( $O_{2}$ is the usual wrong option)
Darwin and Wallace
Darwin (voyage on H.M.S. Beagle): fitness means only reproductive fitness, and natural selection is the mechanism; Alfred Wallace (Malay Archipelago) reached the same conclusion.
Asked as: "According to Darwin, fitness of an organism refers to ___"
Embryological evidence
Ernst Haeckel used embryology (vestigial gill slits in all vertebrate embryos) as evidence; Karl Ernst von Baer disproved it, because embryos never pass through the adult stages of other animals.
Asked as: "Who disapproved Haeckel's embryological evidence?"
Homology
Homology $=$ divergent evolution $=$ common ancestry: forelimbs of whale, bat, cheetah and human; vertebrate hearts and brains; thorn of Bougainvillea and tendril of Cucurbita.
Asked as: "Which pair is homologous?" or "Homologous organs indicate ___ evolution"
Analogy
Analogy $=$ convergent evolution $=$ same function, different structure: wings of butterfly and bird, eye of octopus and mammal, flippers of penguin and dolphin, sweet potato (root) and potato (stem).
Asked as: "Which pair is analogous?" (sweet potato and potato is the favourite)
Industrial melanism
Industrial melanism (England): white-winged moths were more common in the 1850s and dark ones by 1920; lichens are indicators of pollution; no variant is completely wiped out.
Asked as: "Industrial melanism is an example of ___" (natural selection)
Anthropogenic evolution
Resistance to herbicides, pesticides, antibiotics and drugs appears within months or years: this is evolution by anthropogenic action, and evolution is stochastic, not directed.
Asked as: "Antibiotic resistance in bacteria is explained by ___"
Adaptive radiation
Adaptive radiation: Darwin's finches (Galapagos, from seed-eating ancestors) and Australian marsupials. More than one adaptive radiation in an isolated area is convergent evolution (placental wolf vs Tasmanian wolf).
Asked as: "Darwin's finches illustrate ___" or "Placental wolf and Tasmanian wolf show ___"
Lamarck and de Vries
Lamarck: use and disuse of organs, inheritance of acquired characters (giraffe neck). Hugo de Vries: mutation in evening primrose, saltation (single-step large mutation); mutations are random and directionless.
Asked as: "Saltation was proposed by ___" or "Darwinian variations are small and ___" (directional)
Hardy-Weinberg principle
$p^{2} + 2 pq + q^{2} = 1 (from (p + q)^{2})$
Five factors disturb it: gene migration/gene flow, genetic drift, mutation, genetic recombination, natural selection.
Asked as: numerical (find $2 pq$ from $q^{2}$ ), or "Which is NOT a factor affecting H-W equilibrium?"
Genetic drift and types of selection
Genetic drift is a change in allele frequency by chance; when the drifted population becomes founders of a new species, this is the founder effect. Natural selection is stabilising (toward the mean), directional (away from the mean) or disruptive (toward both ends).
Asked as: match each type of selection to its graph or description
Coelacanth and lobefins
Coelacanth, caught in South Africa in 1938 and thought extinct, is a lobefin; lobefins evolved into the first amphibians. Dinosaurs disappeared $\sim 65$ mya.
Asked as: "Lobefins evolved into ___" or "Coelacanth was caught in ___"
Human evolution and brain size
Dryopithecus (ape-like) and Ramapithecus (man-like) lived $\sim 15$ mya. Brain size: Homo habilis $650 - 800 cc$ $\to$ Homo erectus $\sim 900 cc$ (Java, 1891) $\to$ Neanderthal $1400 cc$ (buried their dead).
Asked as: "Arrange in increasing brain capacity" or "Which was more man-like?"

Trap

Homology versus analogy. Thorn and tendril (Bougainvillea, Cucurbita) are HOMOLOGOUS: same origin, different function, divergent evolution. Sweet potato and potato are ANALOGOUS: root and stem with the same function, convergent evolution. Look at the origin of the structure, never at how similar it looks.

How does NEET ask Evolution?

8 real previous-year questions from this chapter, as printed in the paper, each with its worked solution. Answer the first one here with no sign-in.

Q1ZoologyNEET UG PYQHardy-Weinberg Principle

Try right here · No sign-in

Which of the following factors will not affect the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium?

Answer key (C) & worked solution

Correct answer: Option C

Five factors are known to affect Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. These are gene migration or gene flow, genetic drift, mutation, genetic recombination and natural selection.

Q2ZoologyNEET UG PYQBiological Evolution

Industrial melanism is an example of

ANeo-Darwinism

BNatural selection

CMutation

DNeo-Lamarckism

Answer key (B) & worked solution

Correct answer: Option B

Industrial melanism is the replacement of white-colored moths by dark-colored moths due to the emission of industrial smoke. It is an example of natural selection.

Q3ZoologyNEET UG PYQEvidences for Evolution

The similarity of bone structure in the forelimbs of many vertebrates is an example of

AConvergent evolution

BAnalogy

CHomology

DAdaptive radiation

Answer key (C) & worked solution

Correct answer: Option C

In different vertebrates, bones of forelimbs are similar in origin and structure but their forelimbs are adapted in different ways as per their requirement, hence an example of homology.Convergent evolution is related to the evolution of different structures but performs the same function (analogous structure).

Adaptive radiation is related to the evolution of different species from a single ancestor in a particular area. Example- Darwin finches.

Q4ZoologyNEET UG PYQOrigin and Evolution of Man

Given below are two statements: Statement I: Modern Homo sapiens arose in Australia and moved across continents. Statement II: Homo sapiens arose around 75000 to 10000 years ago. In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below :

ABoth Statement I and Statement II are incorrect

BStatement I is correct but Statement II is incorrect

CStatement I is incorrect but Statement II is correct

DBoth Statement I and Statement II are correct

Answer key (C) & worked solution

Correct answer: Option C

Homo sapiens arose in Africa and moved across continents and developed into distinct races. During ice age, between 75,000 - 10,000 years ago, modern Homo sapiens arose.

Q5ZoologyNEET UG PYQEvidences for Evolution

Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion A and the other is labelled as Reason R. Assertion A: Forelimbs of human and bats are homologous. Reason R: Forelimbs of humans and bats have similar anatomical structure. In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below.

ABoth A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A

BA is true but R is false

CA is false but R is true

DBoth A and R are correct and R is the correct explanation of A

Answer key (D) & worked solution

Correct answer: Option D

Forelimbs of bats and humans share similarities in the pattern of bone arrangement. Though their forelimbs perform different functions, they have similar anatomical structure, as all of them have humerus, radius, ulna, carpals, metacarpals and phalanges. This is divergent evolution, and these structures are homologous.

Q6ZoologyNEET UG PYQOrigin and Evolution of Man

Evolution of human appears parallel to the progressive development of brain and language skills. As such, the evolution of individual species in the sequence of their appearance is:

AHomo habilis → Homo erectus → Ramapithecus → Neanderthal → Homo sapiens

BRamapithecus → Homo habilis → Homo erectus → Neanderthal → Homo sapiens

CHomo sapiens → Ramapithecus → Homo habilis → Neanderthal → Homo erectus

DNeanderthal → Ramapithecus → Homo habilis → Homo erectus → Homo sapiens

Answer key (B) & worked solution

Correct answer: Option B

• Evolution of human appears parallel to the progressive development of brain and language skills.• The correct chronological order in which human evolution took place is : Ramapithecus → Homo habilis → Homo erectus → Neanderthal → Homo sapiens

Q7ZoologyNEET UG PYQEvidences for Evolution

The wings of a bird and wings of an insect are

AHomologous structures and represent divergent evolution.

BAnalogous structures and represent convergent evolution.

CPhylogenetic structures and represent divergent evolution.

DHomologous structures and represent convergent evolution.

Answer key (B) & worked solution

Correct answer: Option B

The wings of a bird and the wings of an insect are analogous structures as they are dissimilar in structure yet perform the same function. It represents convergent evolution.

Q8ZoologyNEET UG PYQEvidences for Evolution

Which of the following structures is homologous to the wing of a bird?

ADorsal fin of a Shark

BWing of a Moth

CHind limb of Rabbit

DFlipper of Whale

Answer key (D) & worked solution

Correct answer: Option D

Flipper of Whale is homologous to the wing of a bird. Homologous organs - The structure which are similar in their morphology, anatomy, genetics and embryology, but dissimilar in their functions. Flipper of whale and wing of bird has similar morphology and anatomy, but differ in their functions according to their species as well as the habitat where they live in. A dolphin’s flipper, bird’s wing, cat’s leg, and the human arm are considered homologous structures. Bats, whales, and many other animals have very similar homologous structures, demonstrating that these creatures all had a common ancestor.

Which topics in Evolution carry the most questions?

All 12 topics, by tagged PYQs, then practice questions. Counted from the bank. Updated 19 Oct 2026.

Topic	PYQs	Practice questions
Evidences for Evolution	16	93
Biological Evolution	7	93
Hardy-Weinberg Principle	6	54
Mechanism of Evolution	5	53
Origin and Evolution of Man	5	53
Origin of Life	3	76
A Brief Account of Evolution	3	33
Theories of EvolutionNot in NEET now	2	48
Selection Mechanisms	2	27
Miscellaneous Examples	0	16
Evolution of Life Forms - A Theory	0	8
SpeciationNot in NEET now	0	7

Why does Evolution show "–" until you answer 3 questions?

Unknown is not zero. Until you answer at least 3 graded questions in Evolution, ViJEEta shows – instead of a zero or a 50% default. Book exercises can raise chapter mastery up to 0.60, adaptive practice up to 0.75, and only a timed chapter test or mock can certify 0.80 and above.

How ViJEEta scores you

What happens when you test Evolution?

Every chapter test is 25 questions. It starts at moderate difficulty and adapts after each saved answer. If you open a solution before answering, that attempt earns no credit, so your mastery stays honest.

Start the Evolution test

Chapters either side of Evolution by weight

Biomolecules Weight 8.3/100 Human Reproduction Weight 7.9/100 Human Health and Disease Weight 6.9/100 Body Fluids and Circulation Weight 6.0/100

Evolution: NEET PYQs and weightage

Evolution: key facts for NEET

Age of Earth and origin of life

Louis Pasteur's experiment

Oparin and Haldane

Miller's experiment

Darwin and Wallace

Embryological evidence

Homology

Analogy

Industrial melanism

Anthropogenic evolution

Adaptive radiation

Lamarck and de Vries

Hardy-Weinberg principle

Genetic drift and types of selection

Coelacanth and lobefins

Human evolution and brain size

How does NEET ask Evolution?

Which topics in Evolution carry the most questions?

Why does Evolution show "–" until you answer 3 questions?

What happens when you test Evolution?

Chapters either side of Evolution by weight