Practise 29 real Federal Board questions on Biotechnology from 2023 to 2026. See the answer and explanation as soon as you answer.
Biotechnology is one of the 15 main chapters in our Federal Board FSC Biology question bank (12th class), and about 6% of its real questions come from it. Tayyari Karo has 29 real questions on this chapter from 2023 to 2026; 8 are multiple choice and marked instantly, and the rest are short and long questions with a model answer. By difficulty: 26 medium, 3 easy.
Work through the questions below, then open the explanation for each one. Redo the ones you missed a few days later.
These are real past-paper questions. Think of your answer first, then open the explanation.
The first and the most important step in polymerase chain reaction:
Answer: D. Denaturation
PCR begins with denaturation, heating the DNA to separate it into single strands so primers can later anneal.
A major goal of synthetic biology is to:
Answer: C. Create useful biological products and systems
Synthetic biology designs and engineers new biological parts, devices and systems to create useful products (e.g. biofuels, drugs).
Plasmids are used as vectors because they:
Answer: C. Have an origin of replication
Plasmids possess an origin of replication, allowing them to replicate independently inside a host cell along with any inserted foreign gene, making them useful cloning vectors.
Animal husbandry is a branch of science that deals with care of:
Answer: C. Livestock
Animal husbandry is the branch of agricultural science concerned with the breeding, care and management of livestock.
The enzyme used to isolate gene(s) from DNA is:
Answer: C. Restriction endonuclease
Restriction endonucleases cut DNA at specific recognition sequences, allowing a gene of interest to be excised (isolated) from a larger DNA molecule.
The agent which separates the two strands of DNA in PCR reaction is:
Answer: D. Heat
In PCR, the denaturation step uses high heat (~94–96°C), not an enzyme, to separate the two DNA strands.
(a) How does synthetic biology differ from traditional genetic engineering? (b) Briefly state any one application of synthetic biology.
(a) Traditional genetic engineering typically involves modifying or transferring a single existing gene from one organism to another. Synthetic biology goes further — it involves designing and constructing entirely new biological parts, circuits, or genomes (often built from scratch using standardised, interchangeable DNA components) to create novel functions or organisms not found in nature, rather than just moving an existing gene between organisms.
(b) Application: engineering microorganisms to produce biofuels, or to manufacture drugs/vaccines (e.g. engineered yeast producing artemisinin, an antimalarial compound) more efficiently and sustainably than chemical synthesis.
What are the properties of a good vector? Write any three.
A good cloning vector should have: (1) an origin of replication, so it can replicate independently inside the host cell; (2) one or more selectable marker genes (e.g. antibiotic resistance), allowing identification of host cells that have successfully taken up the vector; (3) unique restriction enzyme recognition sites (a multiple cloning site) where foreign DNA can be inserted without disrupting essential vector genes; and (4) it should be relatively small and easy to isolate/manipulate.
| Session | Questions |
|---|---|
| 2026 Annual | 7 |
| 2025 1st Annual | 6 |
| 2025 2nd Annual | 4 |
| 2024 Annual | 7 |
| 2023 Annual | 5 |
29 real Federal Board (FBISE) Biology questions on Biotechnology from 2023 to 2026, for 12th class. Each one shows the session it came from.
No. We could not find an official FBISE marking scheme for these papers, so the answers and explanations are written by Tayyari Karo for practice. Check anything important with your teacher or textbook.
You can start free with no signup. A small set of papers per subject is free, and Premium unlocks the full question bank.
