Biology

Heredity and Evolution

Question:

Explain Darwin's theory of evolution.

Answer:

Darwin's theory of evolution is also known as the Theory of Natural Selection or Darwinism. Darwin explained that despite having enormous potential of fertility, the population size of any kind of organism remains within a limit. It is due to the struggle between members of the same species and different species for food, space and mate. This struggle eliminates the unfit individuals. In other words, the fit organisms possess some variations, which are favorable and can leave the progeny to continue the variations. This is called Natural Selection.

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Heredity and Evolution

Q 1.

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

Q 2.

What evidence do we have for the origin of life from inanimate matter? [All India]

Q 3.

Why are the traits acquired during the lifetime of an individual not inherited ?

Q 4.

How is sex determined in human beings?

Q 5.

Define homologous organs.

Q 6.

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

Q 7.

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

Q 8.

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

Q 9.

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

Q 10.

Name the famous book written by Charles Robert Darwin.

Q 11.

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

Q 12.

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 13.

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

Q 14.

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 15.

Define the term ‘evolution’. “Evolution cannot be equated with progress”. Justify this statement. [Delhi]

Q 16.

Study the following cross and showing self-pollination in Flf fill in the blank and answer the question that followsncert-exemplar-problems-class-10-science-chapter-9-heredity-evolution-1

Q 17.

What is a gene?

Q 18.

Define variation.

Q 19.

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

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 individuals of a species lead to the formation of a new species ? Provide a suitable explanation for your answer.

Q 22.

Define a gene.

Q 23.

Explain Darwin's theory of evolution.

Q 24.

What are homologous organs? Can the wing of a butterfly and the wing of a bat be regarded as homologous? Why? [All India]

Q 25.

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 26.

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

Q 27.

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

Q 28.

Where did life originate on the earth ?

Q 29.

What is meant by acquired and inherited traits ? Explain with one example each.

Q 30.

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

Q 31.

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

Q 32.

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

Q 33.

What is heredity?

Q 34.

Write the expanded form of DNA.

Q 35.

What constitutes the link between one generation and the next ?

Q 36.

Which of the two, sperm or ovum, decides the sex of the child ?

Q 37.

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

Q 38.

What are fossils ? Giving one example, explain how fossils provide evidence for evolution.

Q 39.

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

Q 40.

Evolution has exhibited a greater stability of molecular structure when compared with morphological structures. Comment on the statement and justify your opinion.

Q 41.

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

Q 42.

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

Q 43.

Explain the terms analogous and homologous organs with examples.

Q 44.

Explain the importance of fossils in deciding evolutionary relationships.

Q 45.

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

Q 46.

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

Q 47.

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

Q 48.

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

Q 49.

If we cross pure-bred tall (dominant) pea plant with pure-bred dwarf (recessive) pea plant we will get pea plants of F1 generation. If we now self-cross the pea plant of F2   generation, then we obtain pea plants of F2   generation.
(a) What do the plants of F2 generation look like?
(b) State the ratio of tall plants to dwarf plants in F2 generation.
(c) State the type of plants not found in F2 generation but appeared in F2 generation, mentioning the reason for the same. [All India]

Q 50.

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 ?