Biology

Heredity and Evolution

Question:

Give an example of body characteristics used to determine how close two species are in terms of evolution and explain it. [All India]

Answer:

Homologous organs help to identify the relationship between organisms. These characteristics in different organisms would be similar because they have inherited from a common ancestor. For example, forelimbs of human and wings of birds show closeness between the two species because the organs have similar basic structural design of limbs though it has been modified to perform different functions.

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Heredity and Evolution

Q 1.

Define variation.

Q 2.

Define homologous organs.

Q 3.

What is meant by the term speciation? List four factors which could lead to speciation. [Delhi]

Q 4.

Name the various tools of tracing evolutionary relationships which have been used for studying human evolution.

Q 5.

What are the different ways in which individuals with a particular trait may increase in a population ?

Q 6.

How do homologous organs provide evidence in support of evolution?

Q 7.

Name five varieties of vegetables which have been produced from ‘wild cabbage’ by the process of artificial selection.

Q 8.

What do you understand by the term ‘evolution’ ? State Darwin’s theory of evolution.

Q 9.

Which of the processes, sexual reproduction or asexual reproduction, brings about maximum variations in the offsprings ?

Q 10.

In human beings, the statistical probability of getting either a male or female child is 50 : 50. Give a suitable explanation.

Q 11.

What factors could lead to the rise of a new species ?

Q 12.

Write the expanded form of DNA.

Q 13.

What is a sex chromosome?

Q 14.

How do embryological studies provide evidence for evolution?

Q 15.

Give the contrasting traits of the following characters in pea plant and mention which is dominant and which is recessive :
(a) Yellow seed (b) Round seed

Q 16.

Choose the one term from the following which includes the other three :
broccoli, wild cabbage, cauliflower, cabbage

Q 17.

Will geographical isolation be a major factor in the speciation of an organism that reproduces asexually ? Give reason for your answer.

Q 18.

”The sex of the children is determined by what they inherit from their father and not their mother.” Justify.

Q 19.

State one characteristic which shows that the birds are very closely related to dinosaurs.

Q 20.

Write the names of at least three inorganic molecules which helped in the origin of life on the earth.

Q 21.

Does geographical isolation of individual of a species lead to formation of a new species? Provide a suitable explanation.

Q 22.

In evolutionary terms, can we say which among bacteria, spiders, fish and chimpanzees have a ‘better body design’ why or why not ?

Q 23.

What is a retrovirus?

Q 24.

How is sex determined in human beings?

Q 25.

Give an example of body characteristics used to determine how close two species are in terms of evolution and explain it. [All India]

Q 26.

Why are human beings who look so different from each other in terms of size, colour and looks said to belong to the same species ?

Q 27.

With the help of an example, explain how variation leads to evolution.

Q 28.

Bacteria have a simpler body plan when compared with human beings. Does it mean that human beings are more evolved than bacteria ? Explain your answer.

Q 29.

How do Mendel’s experiments show that traits are inherited independently ?

Q 30.

Where are the genes located? What is the chemical nature of genes?

Q 31.

What is a gene?

Q 32.

Explain the mechanism of sex determination in humans. [All India]
Or
With the help of a flow chart explain in brief how the sex of a newborn is genetically determined in human beings. Which of the two parents, the mother or the father, is responsible for determination of sex of a child? [Foreign]

Q 33.

If the 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 ?

Q 34.

What type of plants were used by Mendel for conducting his experiments on inheritance ?

Q 35.

Fill in the following blanks with suitable words :Fill in the following blanks with suitable words :
(a) Genes always work in …………………
(b) In pea plants, the gene for dwarfness is………………… whereas that for tallness is…………………
(c) Most people have………………… earlobes but some have………………… earlobes.
(d) A human gamete contains………………… chromosomes whereas a normal body cell has………………… chromosomes in it.
(e) All races of man have………………… blood groups.
(f) The………………… chromosomes for a………………… are XX whereas that for a………………… are XY.

Q 36.

Explain with an example, how genes control the characteristics (or traits).

Q 37.

(a) What is the genotype of dwarf plants which always produced dwarf offspring ?
(b) What is the genotype of tall plants which always produced tall offspring ?
(c) What is the genotype of

  1.  dwarf plants, and
  2.  tall plants, whose parental cross always produces tall offspring ?

Q 38.

Name the famous book written by Charles Robert Darwin.

Q 39.

Name two animals having homologous organs and two having analogous organs. Name these organs.

Q 40.

Will geographical isolation be a major factor in the speciation of a self-pollinating plant species ? Why or why not ?

Q 41.

Can the wing of butterfly and the wing of a bat be considered homologous organs ? Why or why not ?

Q 42.

Explain the terms analogous and homologous organs with examples.

Q 43.

Outline a project which alms to find the dominant coat colour in dogs.

Q 44.

What is heredity?

Q 45.

What are the components of the chromosome?

Q 46.

Define Genetics. What is the contribution of Mendel in the field of genetics?

Q 47.

Give one example each of characters that are inherited and the ones that are acquired in humans. Mention the difference between the inherited and the acquired characters. [Delhi]

Q 48.

Explain the terms: (i) Speciation (ii) Natural selection [Delhi]

Q 49.

An individual cannot pass on to its progeny the experiences of its lifetime.” Justify the statement with the help of an example and also give reason for the same. [Foreign]

Q 50.

What constitutes the link between one generation and the next ?