Random Fertilisation and Genetic Diversity

Question 1

What processes can cause genetic variation within a species?

Answer 1

-Independent segregation
-Crossing Over
-Random fusion of haploid cells

Question 2

What process is completely random during fertilisation?

Answer 2

The fusion of haploid gametes

Question 3

What causes mutations in chromosomes to arise spontaniously?

Answer 3

Non-disjunction

Question 4

When does non-disjunction occur?

Answer 4

When a homologous pair of chromosomes don’t separate during the first meiotic division causing the wrong number of chromosomes

Question 5

What causes a larger genetic diversity?

Answer 5

Greater number of alleles

Question 6

What is the definiton of genetic diversity?

Answer 6

The number of different alleles of genes in a population

Question 7

Why is diversity important?

Answer 7

The more diverse a species is the higher the chance of surviving a change

Question 8

What is adaptation?

Answer 8

The process by which organisms adjust to suit the changing environment in which they live

Question 9

Why is variation already present in a population?

Answer 9

Due to random mutations that result in new alleles of a gene

Question 10

What does a change in the environment result in?

Answer 10

Organisms with the advantageous allele for a particular phenotype being selected for as they are better adapted

Question 11

What is differential reproductive success?

Answer 11

When organisms with the allele for the selected phenotype survive and reproduce passing on the beneficial allele while those who don’t have the allele do not.

Question 12

What changes can affect a population?

Answer 12

-environmental change
-new disease
-new predator
-new competitor

Question 13

What adaptations can natural selection result in?

Answer 13

-anatomical
-physiological
-behavioural

Question 14

What is a gene pool?

Answer 14

All alleles of all genes in a species/population