TEAS Biology Questions: What's Actually Tested (and What Isn't)

Biology sits inside the TEAS 7 Science section alongside anatomy and physiology, chemistry, and scientific reasoning. It is worth nine scored questions, which is enough to matter and small enough that over-studying it costs you points elsewhere.

The practical problem is knowing where biology ends and A&P begins, how deep the content actually goes, and which question formats change what "knowing" a topic means. This guide covers all three.

Is biology on the TEAS?

Yes. Biology accounts for nine scored questions on the TEAS 7 Science section, which makes it the second-largest subcategory after anatomy and physiology and puts it slightly ahead of chemistry at eight. It was not always broken out this way, and the questions test general life-science principles rather than human body systems, so it is genuinely separate material from the A&P questions sitting next to it in the same section.

The arithmetic confuses people, so it is worth stating plainly: the Science section presents 50 questions, of which 44 are scored and six are unscored pretest items seeded throughout. Nine scored biology questions out of 44 scored questions is roughly 20% of the section that counts toward your score. If you divide by 50 you will get 18% and wonder why every source says 20%.

Biology became a distinct labeled subcategory in TEAS 7, which launched in June 2022. TEAS 6 covered biological concepts without separating them out, so anyone studying from TEAS 6 materials is working from an outdated map of the exam. For the full section breakdown, our guide to TEAS science questions covers every content area including chemistry and A&P.

Biology vs. A&P: where the line is

The distinction is the level of biological organization being tested. A&P asks about the human body as a system; biology asks about principles that apply to all living things. Cell biology sits underneath both, which is where most of the confusion comes from.

A&P questions ask you to identify body structures, describe their functions, or trace physiological pathways across ten body systems: integumentary, skeletal, muscular, nervous, endocrine, circulatory, lymphatic and immune, respiratory, digestive, and urinary. Biology questions ask about cell structure and function, macromolecules, cellular reproduction, genetics and DNA, and a little evolution and taxonomy.

The boundary is not absolute. A question about how the cell membrane regulates what enters and leaves a cell could sit in either category. The working rule: if it concerns a specific human organ or body system, treat it as A&P. If it concerns cells, genetics, macromolecules or universal processes, treat it as biology.

How deep does TEAS biology actually go?

Not very, and that is the point. The biology content tests foundational concepts a nursing student will actually use rather than the depth of a college majors' course. You are not asked to diagram the electron transport chain. You are asked whether you know what a mitochondrion does.

Here is what each topic requires.

Cell structure and function

Know the eukaryotic organelles and what each one does: cell membrane, nucleus, mitochondria, ribosomes, smooth and rough endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, lysosomes and cytoplasm. Understand that cellular respiration converts glucose into usable energy and that photosynthesis runs the reverse process in plants. Some questions present a diagram and ask you to identify a structure or its function.

Macromolecules

You need the four biological macromolecules, their building blocks, their functions and an example or two of each. Questions frequently ask about the relationship between structure and function, or where a given macromolecule appears in a biological process.

Genetics and DNA

Expect DNA structure, including the double helix and base pairing, where adenine pairs with thymine and guanine pairs with cytosine. Expect the central dogma, meaning how DNA is transcribed to RNA and translated into protein, plus the basics of gene expression. The National Human Genome Research Institute glossary is a reliable free reference if your recall on terminology is shaky.

Understand that mutations can alter protein function, and know dominant and recessive inheritance. Punnett squares do appear, so practice them until they are quick.

Mitosis and meiosis

Know the phases of mitosis in order, prophase through metaphase, anaphase and telophase, with cytokinesis following, and what happens in each. Mitosis produces two genetically identical diploid daughter cells.

Meiosis occurs in reproductive cells, produces four haploid daughter cells, and generates genetic variation through crossing over. The distinction to hold onto: mitosis is for growth and repair, meiosis is for sexual reproduction.

Infectious and non-infectious disease

TEAS 7 added a component on infectious and non-infectious disease. Know the categories of infectious agent: bacteria, which respond to antibiotics; viruses, which do not; fungi; and parasites. Understand the general division, that infectious disease is caused by transmissible pathogens while non-infectious disease arises from genetics, environment or lifestyle and is not contagious.

The format catch: supply answer removes your safety net

Content knowledge is only half of it. TEAS 7 introduced alternate question types that make up roughly 20% of the exam, and one of them changes how you need to study.

Every item is scored right or wrong. No alternate item type awards partial credit.

Why supply answer is the most demanding format

Multiple choice gives you a safety net. Even with fuzzy recall you can eliminate two wrong options and reason toward the answer. Supply answer removes that entirely: you type the name of an organelle, a phase of mitosis, a macromolecule or a genetics term, with nothing to react against. You either retrieve it or you do not.

These questions also carry precise instructions on how to enter your response, and an answer in the wrong format earns no credit even when the content is right.

How to prepare for supply-answer biology questions

• Drill recall, not recognition. Flashcards suit this well: organelle on one side, function on the other. Quiz until you can state the function unprompted.

• Write answers out. Reviewing macromolecules, do not just think "proteins are made of amino acids." Write the sentence. Producing the answer builds retrieval strength in a way rereading does not.

• Know the vocabulary cold. Mitosis, meiosis, genotype, phenotype, heterozygous, homozygous. Hesitation on definitions is exactly what this format exposes.

• Keep practicing multiple choice too. Both formats appear. Build fluency on the easier one so you have attention left for the harder one.

This is the same active-recall principle that governs the most missed TEAS topics generally: recognition feels like learning and is not.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many biology questions are on the TEAS 7?

Nine scored biology questions, within a Science section of 50 items of which 44 are scored. That is about 20% of the scored Science content. The six unscored pretest items are distributed through the section and are not identified, so treat every question as if it counts.

Is TEAS biology harder than high school biology?

The content depth is comparable to a solid high school biology course. The difficulty comes from format rather than content: supply-answer items require you to produce terminology from memory instead of recognizing it among four options.

Do I need to know chemistry for the biology section?

Not for biology specifically. Chemistry is its own subcategory with eight scored questions. Where the two overlap, such as proteins being built from amino acids, the biology section tests the biological function rather than chemical equations or stoichiometry.

What biology topics show up most?

Cell structure and organelle function, macromolecules, and genetics and DNA are the most heavily tested. Mitosis and meiosis are confirmed scored concepts on TEAS 7, and infectious versus non-infectious disease was added as a TEAS 7 content area.

Will I see questions about ecology or evolution?

Occasionally, but rarely. The exam weights cell biology, genetics and macromolecules far more heavily than population ecology or detailed evolutionary theory.

Can I use a calculator on TEAS biology questions?

No. You cannot bring your own calculator, and the on-screen four-function calculator is provided for the Mathematics section only. For biology this matters mainly for Punnett square ratios, which need simple arithmetic you can do on the provided scratch material.

How do I prepare if I haven't taken biology recently?

Start from the official ATI TEAS content outline, which lists the specific objectives tested. Concentrate on the five core areas: cell structure, macromolecules, genetics and DNA, mitosis and meiosis, and disease classification. Use active recall, meaning flashcards, supply-answer practice and diagram labeling, rather than rereading notes. Give each core area its own study block instead of folding biology into general science review.

The bottom line

Nine scored questions is a small slice of the TEAS, but the Science section carries real weight in your composite, and nine questions you are confident about is a useful buffer. The content sits at the cellular and molecular level: organelle function, macromolecule categories, DNA and genetics basics, the phases of mitosis and meiosis, and the newer infectious versus non-infectious disease material.

What separates biology preparation from A&P preparation is the format as much as the content. Supply-answer items strip away the multiple-choice safety net, which makes active recall non-negotiable here in a way it is not everywhere else on the exam. Flashcards and fill-in-the-blank practice over passive review, and check your standing against a realistic TEAS practice test that includes all five question formats rather than multiple choice alone.