Heredity and evolution

1. Define heredity. Give example of inherited traits.

The transmission of characters from parents to offspring from one generation
to another is called heredity. Inherited traits are characters that are
transferred from one generation to another. E.g. Height, skin colour, ability
to roll tongue, hemophilia
2.Why do asexually reproducing organisms show very little variation?
Asexually reproducing organisms hae same genetic make up, so they sho! ery
little ariations !hich is due to
"i# small inaccuracies in $%A copying"mutation#
"ii# Influence of enironment !hich is not heritable.
&. How does creation of variation in a species promote survival'
The chance of surial depends on nature of ariation. It has adaptie
adantage( the organism is selected by nature and suries. E.g. Heat
resistant bacteria.
). Why did Mendel select pea plant in his experiment?
"i# *mall and easy to gro!
"ii# +isexual flo!er
"iii# *elf fertili,ing in nature and also cross bread experimentally.
"i# -roduce large number of offspring
"# .ife cycle completes in one season
"i# Aailable in many contrasting characters.
/.Why is the symbol used for a trait (tall denoted by two letters such as !!"
!t or tt? +ecause each trait is influenced by both paternal and maternal
$%A.0ne trait is dominant !hile other is recessie.
1. What experiment would we do to confirm that #$ generation did in fact have a
ratio of %&$&%?
+y doing self pollination, TT2 1334 tall plants, Tt2 &51 tall and d!arf
plants, tt2 1334 d!arf plants
"i# 0nly one of the parental trait is obsered in 61 progeny !hen t!o
contrasting character of a trait is considered
"ii# The trait in 61 hybrid is dominant one.
"iii#7hen 61 hybrid is self pollinated both the characteristics appear in ratio of
&51"expressed in 62# !hich sho!s that 61 hybrid has the traits of both characteristics.
8. What is dihybrid cross? What is the ratio of #$ hybrid?

T!o contrasting characters are taken at a time in this cross. 61 hybrid
sho!s only dominant characters. 9atio2:5&5&51
:. How do traits get expressed?
"i#;hromosomes present in nucleus contain hereditary information.
"ii#;hromosomes are made up of $%A and protein. Its important component is
$%A.
"iii#;hromosomes occur in pair, one comes from mother and others from
father.
"i#-art of $%A responsible for a trait is called gene
"# A gene is expressed in the form of proteins. E.g. for tallness of a plant if proteins
!ork efficiently a lot of hormone !ill be produced and the plant !ill be tall.
13.Give example of animals in which sex is not genetically determined.
I# snail2can change sex. "II# turtle2High incubation temperature leads to
deelop female offspring. "III# .i,ard2High incubation temperature leads to
deelop male offspring.
11.Define evolution" give examples.
It means <unfolding or unrolling= change from one condition to another.
It means members of a species change generation after generation in accordance
!ith enironmental re>uirements to turn into ne! species. It is the process of
cumulatie change of liing population and in the descendant populations of organisms.
Eolution is a change in the genetic composition of a population.
It is due to errors in $%A copying as a result of sexual reproduction.
Example2222 "A# %AT?9A. *E.E;TI0%2It brings about adaptie relations bet!een
organisms and enironment by faoring the reproduction and surial of those
indiiduals !hich are found more suited in the gien enironment. "+# @E%ETI;
$9I6TA9andom change in the fre>uency occurring by chance irrespectie of its
being beneficial or harmful. In small population, for this reason some
unfaorable character may be fixed or beneficial character may be lost. ";#
;hanges take place, but the change is not inherited in germ cells, so
reappear.
12. Differentiate between inherited and ac'uired traits.
A;B?I9E$ T9AIT*A"i# This character deelops in an organism due to
influence of enironmental condition, use and disuse of organs etc. "ii# The
characters are restricted to somatic cells only. "iii#The traits cannot be
inherited. E.g. decrease of !eight due to staration, strong muscle of a
!restler.
I%HE9ITE$ T9AIT2"i# this character deelops in an organism due to
change in the germ cells. The cause of the change is due to inaccuracies in
$%A copying. "ii# The trait is coded in genes of chromosomes."iii# The trait
is inherited. E.g. colorblindness, hemophilia.
1&.(arrate the contribution of Darwin.What is the limitation in his theory'
;harles $ar!in explained ho! eolution might hae occurred in nature from
simple to complex form and origin of species by natural selection.
.imitationAHe could not explain ho! liing organism originated on earth
surface.
HE -90-0*E$ 22
%atural selection *urial of the fittest *truggle for existance
Enormous reproductie capacity of liing organism
1).Define speciation. What factors could led to rise of a new species?
*-E;IATI0% is origin of ne! species. %e! species are formed due to
geographical isolation or any other factor
6A;T09*2"i#natural selection "ii#genetic drift "iii#reproductie isolation "i#mutation
1/.What is the relationship between classification and evolution?
The more characteristics t!o species !ill hae in common, the more
closely they are related. They !ill also hae a common ancestor. ;lassification is
done basing on similarities and dissimilarities. *o classification of species
is in fact a reflection of their eolutionary relationship.
11.What are homologous organs? Give examples'
The organs !hich hae same fundamental structure but are different in
function are called homologues organs. E.g. fore limbs of frog, li,ard, !hale
and man.

1C.What are analogous organs give examples'
The organs !hich hae similar function but differ in structural details and
origin. E.g. 7ings of bat, birds and insects.

18.How do study of fossils help in evolutionary process'
6ossils are remains or impressions of the hard parts of the past
indiiduals in the strata of the earth. *ince rocks are laid do!n
se>uentially, !ith older rocks laid do!n before, and thus belo!, younger
rocks, the chronological se>uence of an organism can be inferred from !here
the fossils are found.
1:.Give example to explain that evolution has ta)en place in stages not by a
single D(* change'
a#6eathers !ere firstly deeloped in dinosaurs proide insulations in cold
!eather, later on deeloped in birds used for flight, !hich indicated close
relationship bet!een birds and reptiles. This also indicates character !hich
deeloped for one function is later used for entirely different function.
"b#Eyes2planaria2rudimentary eyes !hich are photosensitie spots. Insects2compound
eyes. 0ctopus and ertebrates2complex structure. The structure of eye in each
of these organism is different enough for them to hae separate eolutionary
origin.
"c#Dery dissimilar structure may eole from common ancestral design.
E.g.2from !ild cabbage man has deeloped cabbage, cauliflo!er, kohlrabi, kale
and broccoli.
23. Why are human beings who loo) so different from each other in terms of si+e
colour and loo)s said to belong to same species?
+ecause they can interbreed
21.What are characteristics'
;haracteristics are details of appearance or behaior.
(,-.! /0-1!23(1
1. If a trait A exists in 10% of a population of an asexually reproducing
species and a trait B exists in 60% of the same population, which trait is
likely to have arisen earlier
Answer: In asexual reproduction, the reproducing cells produce a copy of their DNA
through some chemical reactions. However, this copying of DNA is not accurate and
therefore, the newly formed DNA has some variations.
It can e easily oserved in the aove figure that in
asexual reproduction, very few variations are allowed. !herefore, if a trait is present
in only 1"# of the population, it is more li$ely that the trait has arisen recently.
Hence, it can e concluded that trait % that exists in &"# of the same population has
arisen earlier than trait A.
'.!ow does the creation of variations in a species promote survival
Answer: (ometimes for a species, the environmental conditions change so drastically
that their survival ecomes difficult. )or example, if the temperature of water
increases suddenly, most of the acteria living in that water would die. *nly few
variants resistant to heat would e ale to survive. If these variants were not there,
then the entire species of acteria would have een destroyed. !hus, these variants
help in the survival of the species.
However, not all variations are useful. !herefore, these are not necessarily eneficial
for the individual organisms.
"# !ow do $endel%s experiments show that traits may &e dominant or
recessive
Answer: +endel selected true reeding tall ,!!- and dwarf ,tt- pea plants. !hen, he
crossed these two plants. !he seeds formed after fertili.ation were grown and these
plants that were formed represent the first filial or )1 generation. All the )1 plants
otained were tall. 'ross(pollination of tall and short plant !hen, +endel self/
pollinated the )1 plants and oserved that all plants otained in the )' generation
were not tall. Instead, one/fourth of the )' plants were short.
)elf(pollination of *1 plants
)rom this experiment, +endel concluded that the )1 tall plants were not true
reeding.
!hey were carrying traits of oth short height and tall height. !hey appeared tall only
ecause the tall trait is dominant over the dwarf trait.
0. !ow do $endel%s experiments show that traits are herited independently
Answer: +endel crossed pea plants having round green seeds ,11yy- with pea plants
having wrin$led yellow seeds ,rr22-.
An example of dihy&rid crosses
(ince the )1 plants are formed after crossing pea plants having green round seeds
and pea plants having yellow wrin$led seeds, )1 generation will have oth these
characters in them. However, as we $now that yellow seed colour and round seeds
are dominant characters, therefore, the )1 plants will have yellow round seeds.
!hen this )1 progeny was self/pollinated and the )' progeny was found to have yellow
round seeds, green round seeds, yellow wrin$led seeds, and green wrin$led seeds in
the ratio of 3:4:4:1.
Independent inheritance of two different traits
In the aove cross, more than two factors are involved, and these are independently
inherited.
+#A man with &lood group A marries a woman with &lood group , and their
daughter has &lood group ,# Is this information enough to tell you which of
the traits - &lood group A or , - is dominant .hy or why not
Answer: No. !his information is not sufficient to determine which of the traits 5
lood group A or * 5 is dominant. !his is ecause we do not $now aout the lood
group of all the progeny.
%lood group A can e genotypically AA or A*.
&.!ow is the sex of the child determined in human &eings
Answer: In human eings, the females have two 6 chromosomes and the males have
one 6 and one 2 chromosome. !herefore, the females are 66 and the males are 62.
!he gametes, as we $now, receive half of the chromosomes. !he male gametes have
'' autosomes and either 6 or 2 sex chromosome.
!ype of male gametes: ''76 *1 ''7 2.
However, since the females have 66 sex chromosomes, their gametes can only have
6 sex chromosome. !ype of female gamete: ''76
!hus, the mother provides only 6 chromosomes. !he sex of the ay is determined
y the type of male gamete ,6 or 2- that fuses with the 6 chromosome of the
female.
8..hat are the different ways in which individuals with a particular trait
may increase in a population
Answer:Individuals with a particular trait may increase in a population as a result of
the following:
,i- Natural selection: 9hen that trait offers some survival advantage.
,ii- :enetic drift: 9hen some genes governing that trait ecome common in a
population.
,iii- 9hen that trait gets ac;uired during the individual<s lifetime.
=..hy are traits ac/uired during the life(time of an individual not inherited
Answer:!his happens ecause an ac;uired trait involves change in non/reproductive
tissues ,somatic cells- which cannot e passed on to germ cells or the progeny.
!herefore, these traits cannot e inherited.
0#.hy are the small num&ers of surviving tigers a cause of worry from the
point of view of genetics
Answer: (mall numers of tigers means that fewer variations in terms of genes are
availale. !his means that when these tigers reproduce, there are less chances of
producing progeny with some useful variations. Hence, it is a cause of worry from
the point of view of genetics.
10#.hat factors could lead to the rise of a new species
Answer: Natural selection, genetic drift and ac;uisition of traits during the life time of
an individual can give rise to new species.
11#.ill geographical isolation &e a ma1or factor in the speciation of a self(
pollinating plant species .hy or why not
Answer: :eographical isolation can prevent the transfer of pollens among different
plants. However, since the plants are self/pollinating, which means that the pollens
are transferred from the anther of one flower to the stigma of the same flower or of
another flower of the same plant, geographical isolation cannot prevent speciation in
this case.
12#.ill geographical isolation &e a ma1or factor in the speciation of an
organism that reproduces asexually .hy or why not
Answer: :eographical isolation prevents gene flow etween populations of a species
whereas asexual reproduction generally involves only one individual. In an asexually
reproducing organism, variations can occur only when the copying of DNA is not
accurate. !herefore, geographical isolation cannot prevent the formation of new
species in an asexually reproducing organism.
1"#3ive an example of characteristics &eing used to determine how close
two species are in evolutionary terms#
Answer: !he presence of feathers in dinosaurs and irds indicates that they are
evolutionarily related. Dinosaurs had feathers not for flying ut instead these
feathers provided insulation to these warm/looded animals. However, the feathers
in irds are used for flight. !his proves that reptiles and irds are closely related and
that the evolution of wings started in reptiles.
14#.hat are fossils .hat do they tell us a&out the process of evolution
Answer:)ossils are the remains of organisms that once existed on earth. !hey
represent the ancestors of plants and animals that are alive today. !hey provide
evidences of evolution y revealing the characteristics of the past organism and the
changes that have occurred in these organisms to give rise to the present organisms.
1+# ,nly variations that confer an advantage to an individual organism will
survive in a population# 5o you agree with this statement .hy or why not
Answer: In species, variations that offer survival advantages are naturally selected.
Individuals ad>ust to their environments with the help of these selected variations
and conse;uently these variations are passed on to their progeny. ?volution of
organisms occurs as a result of this natural selection.
However, there can e some other variations, which do not offer any survival
advantage and arise only accidentally. (uch variations in small populations can
change the fre;uency of some genes even if they are not important for survival.
!his accidental change in the fre;uency of genes in small populations is referred to
as genetic drift.
!hus, genetic drift provides diversity ,variations- without any survival advantage.
16#6xplain the importance of fossils in deciding evolutionary relationships#
Answer: )ossils are the remains of the organism that once existed on earth. !hey
represent the ancestors of the plants and animals that are alive today. !hey provide
evidences of evolution y revealing the characteristics of the past organisms and the
changes that have occurred in these organisms to give rise to the present organisms.
Around 1"" million years ago, some inverterates died and were uried in the soil in
that area. +ore sediment accumulated on top of it turning it into sedimentary roc$.
At the same place, millions of years later, some dinosaurs died and their odies were
uried on top of the sedimentary roc$. !he mud containing dinosaurs also turned
into a roc$.
!hen, millions of years later, some horse/li$e creatures died in that area and got
fossili.ed in roc$s aove the dinosaur fossils.
(ome time later, due to soil erosion or floods in that area, the roc$s containing
horseli$e fossils are exposed.
If that area is excavated deeper, then the dinosaur and inverterates fossils can also
e found. !hus, y digging that area, scientists can easily predict that horse/li$e
animals evolved later than the dinosaurs and the inverterates.
!hus, the aove example suggests that the fossils found closer to the surface of the
earth are more recent ones than the fossils present in deeper layers
7ayers of fossils