Biology

Heredity and Evolution

Question:

Out of bacteria, spider, fish and chimpanzee, which organism has a better body design in evolutionary terms ? Give reason for your answer.

Answer:

In evolutionary terms, we can say that bacteria has a ‘better’ body design than spiders, fish, and, chimpanzees. This is because though bacteria is one of the simplest and primitive life forms but it still inhabits and survives in some of the most inhospitable (most unfavourable) habitats such as hot springs, deep-sea thermal vents and ice in Antarctica. Most other organisms (including spider, fish and chimpanzees) cannot survive in such harsh environments.

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Heredity and Evolution

Q 1.

Name the scientist who gave the theory of evolution.

Q 2.

(a) If a normal human cell has 46 chromosomes, how many chromosomes will be there in a human (;) sperm cell, and (ii) zygote ?
(b) What sizes of plants are produced if both parents have genes Tt ?

Q 3.

a) Name the scientist who gave the theory of origin of life on earth. What is this theory ?
(b) How are those species which are now ‘extinct’ studied ?

Q 4.

Mention three important features of fossils which help in the study of evolution.

Q 5.

How are fossils formed? Describe, in brief, two methods of determining the age of fossils. [All India]

Q 6.

Match the terms given in column I with those given in column II :
lakhmir-singh-biology-class-10-solutions-heredity-and-evolution-1

Q 7.

Will geographical isolation be a major factor in the speciation of an organism that reproduces asexually ? Why or why not ?

Q 8.

Only variations that confer an advantage to an individual organism will survive in a population. Do you agree with this statement ? Why or why not ?

Q 9.

Explain with examples how the following are evidences in favour of evolution in organisms.  (i) Homologous organs (ii) Analogous organs (iii) Fossils [Delhi]

Q 10.

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

Q 11.

What are the four blood groups in humans ?

Q 12.

(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 13.

Where did life originate on the earth ?

Q 14.

Name two organisms which are now extinct and studied from their fossils.

Q 15.

Give reasons why acquired characters are not inherited.

Q 16.

How do homologous organs provide evidence in support of evolution?

Q 17.

Define variation in relation to a species. Why is variation beneficial to the species? [Delhi]

Q 18.

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 19.

What are the chromosomes XY and XX known as ?

Q 20.

Name the first scientist who studied the inheritance of traits from one generation to the next.

Q 21.

A woman has only daughters. Analyse the situation genetically and provide a suitable explanation.

Q 22.

How does the creation of variations in a species promote survival ?

Q 23.

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

Q 24.

What is heredity?

Q 25.

Define a gene.

Q 26.

What do you understand by the double helical structure of DNA? Who proposed this structure?

Q 27.

Describe the different types of chromosomes.

Q 28.

What is a sex chromosome?

Q 29.

How is the equal genetic contribution of male and female parents ensured in the progeny? [Delhi]

Q 30.

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

Q 31.

A new born child has an XY pair of chromosmes. Will it be a baby boy or a baby girl ?

Q 32.

The gene for red hair is recessive to the gene for black hair. What will be the hair colour of a person if he inherits a gene for red hair from his mother and a gene for black hair from his father ?

Q 33.

(a) What will you get in the F1 and F2 generations in the following cross ?
Pure tall pea plant x Pure dwarf pea plant
(b) Is it an example of monohybrid cross or dihybrid cross ?

Q 34.

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 35.

(a)What is meant by ‘heredity’ ? What are the units of heredity.
(b) State Mendel’s first law of inheritance.

Q 36.

(a) What are genes ? Where are they located in our body ?(a) What are genes ? Where are they located in our body ?
(b) What is meant by dominant genes and recessive genes ? Give one example of each.
(c) Explain how, characteristics (or traits) are inherited through genes.

Q 37.

Name an animal having rudimentary eyes.

Q 38.

The forelimbs of a frog, a bird and a man show the same basic design (or basic structure) of bones. What name is given to such organs ?

Q 39.

Out of the wing of a bird, wing of an insect and the wing of a bat :
(a) which two are homologous organs ?
(b) which two are analogous organs ?

Q 40.

Why are the small numbers of surviving tigers a cause of worry from the point of view of genetics ?

Q 41.

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

Q 42.

(a) Define ‘speciation’. Explain how speciation occurs.
(b) Will geographical isolation be a major factor in the speciation of a self-pollinating plant species ? Give reason for your answer.

Q 43.

Do genetic combination of mothers play a significant role in determining the sex of new born?

Q 44.

A man with blood group A marries a woman with blood O and their daughter has blood group O. Is this information enough to tell you which of the traits  blood group A or O is dominant ? Why or why not ?

Q 45.

Why are the small numbers of surviving tigers a cause of worry from the point of view of genetics ?

Q 46.

Give an example of characteristics being used to determine how close two species am in evolutionary terms ?

Q 47.

What are fossils ? What do they tell us about the process of evolution ?

Q 48.

A study found that children with light-coloured eyes are likely to have parents with light-coloured eyes. On this basis, can we say anything about whether the light eye colour trait is dominant or recessive? Why or why not?

Q 49.

How are the areas of study – evolution and classification inteilinked?

Q 50.

During which stage can the chromosomes be seen clearly? Write the features of the eukaryotic and prokaryotic chromosomes.