Section E: Variation and Selection

Chapter 16: Chromosomes, genes and DNA

parents

nucleus

This contains the chromosomes carrying thousands of genes.

sperm

Its nucleus contains the chromosomes that carry genes from the father.

egg

Its nucleus contains the chromosomes that carry genes from the mother.

fertilised egg

Its nucleus contains chromosomes from both parents.

gene

a unit of genetic information that is linked to a particular characteristic. It

controls production of proteins in the cell.

alleles

different forms of a gene

dominant allele

an allele that controls the development of a characteristic even when it is

present on only one of the chromosomes

recessive allele

an allele that controls the development of a characteristic only if it is present on

both chromosomes

a)

offspring

genes

chromosomes

characteristics

By the inheritance of the sex chromosomes X and Y. Females inherit XX, males XY.

b) i)
ii)
5

mutations

a)

24
Because a Barr body in the cell exists when one of two X chromosomes is deactivated, and
only women have two X chromosomes, so only women have Barr bodies in their cells.
genes

variety

radiation

IGCSE Biology Revision Guide Answers Section E

mutagens

To protect them from the radiation, which could cause mutations

b) Because it would be easy for them to be exposed to high levels of radiation, which could cause
mutations in their gonads or gametes. These would be passed on to their children where the
effects might then show up as genetic disorders or cancers.
7

a)

Smoking increases your risk of dying from lung cancer.

b) Smoking increases the levels of these chemicals in your body.

c)

Because cigarette smoke is taken into the lungs, so the concentration of carcinogenic chemicals
is particularly high in that tissue.

d) In the throat and mouth, because the smoke also passes across these tissues every time it is
inhaled.
8

a)

Graph of the data

b) It shows that the rate of mutation increases as the dose of radiation goes up.
c)

Because increased radiation increases the probability of mutation, which in turn tends to cause
an increase in cancer rates. The exposure is monitored to try to reduce the health risk to people
working with radiation.

a)

Mutations in the reproductive cells can lead to infertility or to the birth of babies suffering from
genetic abnormalities.

b) Mutations in normal body cells might increase the risk of cancers developing.

IGCSE Biology Revision Guide Answers Section E

Chapter 17: Cell division

1

In asexual reproduction no cells join

and the new individual is identical to the parent.

In sexual reproduction special male and female sex

cells fuse (join)

to form a unique new cell.

The new individual formed in sexual reproduction

contains a mixture of genetic information from both

parents.

The special sex cells involved in sexual

reproduction

are known as gametes.

A clone is the identical offspring formed

as a result of asexual reproduction.

a)

b) So that the new cells are exactly the same as the old ones, so that the new individual is made up
of the same unique cells, and so that the cells all carry the right information to enable them to do
their jobs.

c)

It is the way the body makes new cells to replace old worn-out ones and to heal damaged tissue.

a)

46

b) 23
c)

Meiosis

d) In the ovaries and testes

a)

In human reproduction meiosis is important in the formation of the sex cells. It halves the
number of chromosomes, so when the sex cells join, a normal cell with 46 chromosomes results,
and it introduces variety. After fertilisation, mitosis is important in the formation of the millions
of cells needed to make up the new individual.

IGCSE Biology Revision Guide Answers Section E

e)

b) Mitosis is important for making the new cells needed to give the cuttings roots, and then for
normal growth to continue. Meiosis plays no part.
5

a)

Correctly draw bar graphs

b) Height
c)

Because their height varied relatively little, whether the twins were brought up together or apart,
whereas their mass was similar when brought up together and fed the same food, but much less
similar when brought up apart.

d) Can give credit for any answer well supported by the explanation. However, the expected
answer might be on the following lines.
The information is difficult to collect mainly because identical twins themselves are relatively
rare, so identical twins who are separated and brought up apart for long periods of time, meeting
up later to enable comparisons to be made, are very rare indeed.
Non-identical twins and non-twin siblings are not particularly similar in height, and there is a
big difference between them and identical twins, however the twins are brought up. However,
identical twins brought up apart show the same difference in mass as the other two groups,
showing a much bigger influence of the environment on body mass.

IGCSE Biology Revision Guide Answers Section E

Chapter 18: Genes and inheritance

1

homozygous
characteristic
genotype
codominant

a)

dominant

phenotype

recessive

Sandys dimple alleles are dd. She doesnt have dimples, so she must be homozygous recessive.

b) Toms dimple alleles would be Dd. He must have a recessive allele to pass on, even though he
shows the dominant character trait.

c)

They would be Dd or DD, because he has passed on a dominant allele.

a)

rr a homozygous recessive plant

b) i)

ii)

Parents
Gametes

RR rr
RRrr
R

Rr

Rr

Rr

Rr

Offspring

Rr (all smooth and round)

Parents
Gametes

Rr rr
Rrrr
R

Rr

rr

Rr

rr

Offspring
4

a)

Rr Rr (smooth and round) or rr rr (wrinkled)

Parents
Gametes

Tt tt
Tttt
T

Tt

tt

Tt

tt

Offspring

Tt Tt (Manx) or tt tt (normal)

b) Parents
Gametes

Tt Tt
TtTt
T

TT

tT

Tt

tt

Offspring

TT Tt tT tt

The expected ratio is 3:1.

heterozygous

The ratio of Manx kittens actually born is 2 Manx to 1 normal, because the homozygous Manx
kittens die before birth.

a)

F is the normal allele, f is the cystic fibrosis gene.

Parents
Gametes

Ff (Franois) FF (Annette)
Ff FF
F

FF

fF

FF

fF

Possible offspring: FF FF fF fF
There is no chance of their having a child with cystic fibrosis, although some of their children
may be carriers of the faulty gene.
b) If neither has the faulty gene (FF FF), then all offspring FF
If only one has the faulty gene, then as in part a with offspring FF or fF
If both are carriers (Ff Ff), then
F

FF

fF

Ff

ff

Possible offspring: FF Ff fF ff, giving a 1:4 chance of their producing a child with cystic
fibrosis.
6

a)

IGCSE Biology Revision Guide Answers Section E

c)

Pupils should choose a letter that looks different in upper and lower case, e.g. D for dwarfism,
with d for normal, which are used here.
Individual A has genotype Dd, B has genotype dd, and C has genotype Dd.

b) It could be that the embryo was homozygous dominant, which is lethal:

Parents
Gametes

Dd Dd
Dd Dd
D

DD

dD

Dd

dd

Offspring: DD (dies; maybe cause of miscarriage), Dd or dD (achondroplastic dwarfs), dd

(normal height)
7

a)

Codominance occurs when a gene has two alleles, neither of which is dominant to the other and
both of which contribute to the phenotype.

b) I would carry out crosses between the red (R) and white (W) flowered plants. Several different
outcomes are possible, but we know that some of the offspring will be heterozygous. So if there
is codominance, there should be some pink flowers. There are two possible crosses:

IGCSE Biology Revision Guide Answers Section E

RW WW:
R

RW

WW

RW

WW

This gives 2 red and 2 white offspring, so no codominance

RR WW:
R

RW

RW

RW

RW

If all offspring red, no codominance. If all offspring pink, there is codominance.

8

Sex is inherited on whole chromosomes XX female, XY male. So a baby boy inherits the X
chromosome from his mother and the Y from his father. Dimples (D) are inherited on a single gene
with two different alleles, so dimples are dominant. The baby has inherited an allele for dimples from
one parent or the other:
X

XX

XX

XY

XY

Various combinations could result in the baby inheriting dimples, e.g. DD DD, DD Dd, DD
dd, Dd DD, Dd Dd, or Dd dd. Pupils could give genetic diagrams for all these crosses.

Chapter 19: Natural selection and evolution

1

After the first application of a pesticide, the majority of the insects are killed. Most of the insects that
survive will stay alive, because they are resistant in some way to the pesticide as the result of some
mutation that had occurred when they developed. These insects then continue to live and reproduce,
so that when the population is again exposed to the pesticide, most of the insects will be resistant
descendants of the original survivors and so will be unaffected by the spray. Some, however, will
have mutated again and lost their resistance, so they will be killed by the pesticide.

a)

Horse

b) 1

The animal was small. It lived in swamps, so it needed spread-out feet to avoid sinking. It
probably didnt move very rapidly, relying on camouflage and its ability to walk on soft
ground to escape predators.
The animal was still small and so probably depended on camouflage and disappearing in
the undergrowth for protection, but as it was no longer a swamp dweller its foot was less
spread, to make walking on dry forest floors and prairies easier.

a)

Speed is becoming more important as an escape method, as there is little cover for hiding.
Only one point of the toe now touches the ground, and the animal is developing longer legs
to go with the modified foot for running faster.

The shape of the modern horse begins to emerge. The leg and foot are modified so that
only a single toe remains and all the other toes are effectively lost into the legs, which are
much longer. The angle of the joints is changing and the hind quarters gain big muscles for
fast running on dry grasslands.

The animal is much taller, with very long legs and single toes well evolved for fast running
on open grasslands, both as part of a herd lifestyle and to escape predators. It can see over
long grass easily.

Because different genetic variations exist in the same population.

b) Yes it would make the birds more obvious to predators.

c)

Yes birds with white feathers are more likely to survive the winter without being eaten and so
are more likely to survive and breed.

d) Yes brown birds are mutations and are relatively unsuccessful, so they stay as a minority in
the population.
4

a)

Two years to 1917

b) 1930 or 1933 would be acceptable

c)

Not until 1937, 22 years from the first appearance of the disease

d) When the disease first appeared, virtually all of the oysters were wiped out. Of those that
remained, some were lucky, though they may have succumbed to the disease later; others must
have possessed a mutation that gave them immunity to the disease. This mutation allowed a tiny
number of oysters to survive and become a breeding colony, which once established bred
rapidly to restore the oyster numbers with oysters that were now immune to the disease.
5

IGCSE Biology Revision Guide Answers Section E

The theory of natural selection says that individual organisms within a species may show a wide
range of variation because of differences in their genes. Individuals with characteristics most suited
to their environment are more likely to survive and breed successfully, and the genes that have
enabled these individuals to survive are then passed on to the next generation. This explains the
situation with the Galpagos finches.
Birds arrived on a particular island or an area of an island from the mainland, blown by a storm or
similar. Those birds with beaks best suited to a particular food type either one that was very
common in the area or something not exploited by other animals would be most successful and
most likely to breed, passing on the genes for the slightly modified beak. Over many generations this
effect would be magnified, until the birds formed separate breeding colonies with separate feeding
strategies and different beak structures. Each type of finch was particularly successful in its own
niche. Breeding isolation would be achieved by distance and also by changing breeding behaviour
(e.g. song, displays) that was no longer universally recognised.

IGCSE Biology Revision Guide Answers Section E

Chapter 20: Selective breeding

1

cuttings

a)

identical

characteristics

damp

plastic bags

Selective breeding

b)
Animal selected

a)

Plant selected

Reason why

hens from wild

chickens

lay more eggs

wheat from wild

grasses

large ears for food

pigs from wild boar

tamer, much more

meat, grow faster

potatoes from wild

potatoes

grow more, bigger

potatoes

cows from wild cattle

large milk production,

lots of meat

any garden fruit, e.g.

apples, strawberries

larger, sweeter fruit

dogs from wolves

tamer, smaller, more

obedient

garden roses from wild

roses

larger, more
colourful flowers,
stronger scent

Tissue culture uses minute collections of cells as the starting point. Traditional cuttings uses
parts of whole stems and roots.

b) 1

Reason why

Large numbers of genetically identical plants (clones) can be produced from just one plant.

Micropropagation can produce large numbers of new plants that might be difficult to
produce from seeds or traditional cuttings.

New plants can be made all year by growing them in a laboratory.

Large numbers of plants can be stored easily.

c)

There is no variety in the population, so if one plant cannot cope with changed conditions, none
of them will be able to cope and they will all die.

a)

It is increasing at a very rapid rate.

b) Because we need to be able to feed all the people.

c)

Correctly drawn graph with labelled axes, etc.

d) Potatoes and citrus fruits

e)

Because otherwise many of the extra crops grown will be lost to disease. By making crops
resistant to disease, the yield can be increased.

a)

Correctly drawn graphs of yields with time, labelled axes, etc.

b) Because their milk yield was overtaken by other breeds, so farmers stopped farming them.
c)

There is a lot of cheap milk available for milk and milk products.

e)

The same sort of pattern, with increasing yields over the last 70 years

f)

Cross two particularly large parents with a good meat yield, and then cross the offspring again
with particularly large animals, etc. Avoid breeding from animals with lighter carcasses.

Flow diagram to follow this basic sequence (the first two points are relatively interchangeable):
Take an adult cell from a mature animal with a diploid nucleus
Take an egg from another mature female of the same species and remove the nucleus
Combine the adult cell/nucleus with the empty egg
Give a small electric shock to stimulate division
Allow the embryo to start dividing
Replace the embryo in a foster mother of the same species
Offspring eventually born is a clone of the original adult animal

a)

Both allow large numbers of genetically identical individuals to be produced from good parent
stock much more quickly and reliably than would be possible using traditional techniques.

b) Cloning plants uses bits of the adult plant as the raw material. Cloning animals currently
involves using normal body cells and egg cells as the raw material, though this may change in
the future Dolly needed an egg cell and the nucleus from a mammary gland cell.
c)

There are more and more people in the world who need to be fed, so there will always be a need
for techniques for reproducing high-yielding plants and animals. Also, in developed countries
people demand high-quality but inexpensive food, so techniques that reproduce valuable
animals and plants more quickly are valued.

IGCSE Biology Revision Guide Answers Section E

d) The big increase in milk production is in areas such as Europe, while the main need for extra
food is in the developing world. So in Europe there is a milk lake more milk is being
produced than can be used.