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AQA GCSE Biology Topic 6: Inheritance, Variation and Evolution

a e h k
Compare meiosis and mitosis. Give three advantages of sexual reproduction. Describe the structure of DNA. Label the parts the make up a nucleotide.
 
1. 

 
 Label the diagram below with the following keywords: cell,
2. 
 nucleus, chromosome, gene, DNA.


3. 
l
 What effect might a mutation in a non-coding region
b
What are the names of the male and female gametes… of DNA have?
in plants?  
f
Give four advantages of asexual reproduction.
in animals?  
1. 

m
Define the following terms.
c 2. 
What is asexual reproduction?
 How many pairs of chromosomes does an ordinary human genome: 
 body cell contain? 
 3. 
 gamete: 

i 
 4.  Complete the complementary strand to show which
 bases pair up. chromosome: 
d 
male A B female
g gene: 
Describe how three different organisms reproduce both A A C T A G G C A T T A T C A
sexually and asexually. 

1.  allele: 
C D
 
How many amino acids does this strand code for? 
E 2.  dominant: 
 Explain how a change in this DNA sequence could result 
How many chromosomes are in cell B?  in a change in the protein that this gene codes for.
3. 
 recessive: 
What is the process called that produces cell C from cell A? 
 

 
homozygous: 
How many chromosomes are in cell C?   

How many chromosomes are in cell E? 
heterozygous: 
What is the process that produces cell E called?
j 
 Describe how protein synthesis occurs.

 genotype: 
What happens to cell E next?
 

  phenotype: 
  
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AQA GCSE Biology Topic 6: Inheritance, Variation and Evolution
a d h j
Explain why it’s important for us to study the Give an example of a characteristic caused by a single gene. The diagram shows the inheritance of cystic fibrosis in Evaluate the process of embryo screening.
human genome.  one family. 
  
  
  
 
What causes most characteristics?
 

 
 
e
A woman with polydactyly is heterozygous for the

polydactyly allele. The woman marries a man who does
b not have polydactyly. Draw a punnet square diagram to 
Give an example of variation between individuals that is
help you explain what the probability of their first child 
affected by genetics (genetic variation). Use the symbol N for the allele for normal health and the
having polydactyly is. 
 symbol n for the allele for cystic fibrosis.
Use the symbol A for the dominant allele and the symbol a 
 What is the genotype for person A?
for the recessive allele. 
Give an example of variation between individuals that is How do you know? 
affected by the environment (environmental variation).  
  
  
 
Give an example of variation between individuals
 
that is affected by a combination of genetic and
environmental variation. 

 Person A is pregnant with their third child. Use a genetic k

Explain the benefits and risks of selective breeding.
 f diagram to explain the probability that their child will have
Which sex chromosomes do human females carry?

cystic fibrosis.



c Which sex chromosomes do human males carry? 

What causes new variants in the genes of a species?
 


Explain what effects this could have on the phenotype of g 
Use a punnet square to show the inheritance of sex.
an organism. 
 
 
 
 
i
What is selective breeding?
 

 
What is the chance that a pregnancy produces a boy? 
 
 
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AQA GCSE Biology Topic 6: Inheritance, Variation and Evolution
a c g h
Describe the process that farmers use to ensure they have Annotate the diagram to describe the process of Chemical analysis led Carl Woese to adapt the system
varieties of cow that produce lots of milk. genetic engineering. we used for classification.
 Describe how his system divides organisms.
 
 
 
 
 

 i
Complete the boxes to show the way Linnaeus classified
Give four other examples of characteristics that might be living things.
chosen for selective breeding in plants or animals.
kingdom





b
What are GM crops?



d
Name two ways that cloning is carried out in plants.
What are the benefits of GM crops?




 How are organisms named?

 


Use the diagram to describe the process of adult cell cloning.
e
What are the concerns about genetic engineering?  j
What is evolution?
 

 

 


When did the first simple life forms develop?
f 
Describe how embryo transplants are used to clone animals. 


 What evidence do we have for evolution?

 

 
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AQA GCSE Biology Topic 6: Inheritance, Variation and Evolution
a d e h
This is a fossil of the prehistoric bird Archaeopteryx. MRSA is resistant to antibiotics. The graph shows how Why can bacteria evolve rapidly? How did Lamarck’s theory differ from Darwin’s?
Archaeopteryx is now extinct. the number of MRSA infections has changed over the last  
Give some factors that could 15 years.
 
contribute to a species extinction.
Explain how bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics.
 i
 Explain how the work of Mendel contributed to our

 understanding of genetics.

 

 

 

 
b
What are fossils? 

 Describe the trend in the data. 

  
 
Give three ways fossils may be formed.
 f
 Use Darwin’s theory of natural selection to explain how
 j
 the length of giraffe necks has increased over time. Why was the importance of Mendel’s discovery not
 recognised until after his death?
 
Explain what measures were put in place in England and
  
Wales in 2006 that caused the trend in the data shown on
 the graph.  

   

  
c  
What can we learn from fossils?
k
  Explain the role that Alfred Russel Wallace played in the
g publication of the theory of evolution by natural selection.
  Give three reasons that it took a while before Darwin’s
 theory of natural selection was accepted? 
Why can scientists not be certain about how life began
  
on earth?
  

  

  

  

  


l
The anole lizards are found on the Caribbean islands. There are around 150 species of the lizard which evolved from a single species that colonised the islands. Explain how two species of
the anole lizard, found on different Caribbean islands, could have evolved from a common ancestor.




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AQA GCSE Biology Topic 6: Inheritance, Variation and Evolution Answers
a e h k
Compare meiosis and mitosis. Give three advantages of sexual reproduction. Describe the structure of DNA. Label the parts the make up a nucleotide.
Meiosis includes two nuclear divisions which produce four 1. It produces variation in the offspring. DNA is a polymer made up of two strands of nucleotides base
non-identical daughter cells. Each daughter cell contains that are twisted to form a double helix.
2. Natural selection gives a survival advantage if the phosphate group
one set of chromosomes.
environment changes. Label the diagram below with the following keywords: cell,
Mitosis includes one nuclear division that produces two
nucleus, chromosome, gene, DNA.
identical daughter cells. Each daughter cell contains two 3. Selective breeding allows humans to speed up natural sugar
full sets of chromosomes. selection to increase food production. chromosome
nucleus l
DNA What effect might a mutation in a non-coding region
b
What are the names of the male and female gametes… of DNA have?
in plants? pollen cells and egg cells It might change the expression of a gene.
f
Give four advantages of asexual reproduction.
in animals? sperm cells and egg cells gene
1. Only one parent is needed.
cell
2. It’s more time and energy efficient as there is no need m
Define the following terms.
c to find a mate.
What is asexual reproduction?
How many pairs of chromosomes does an ordinary human genome: The entire genetic material of an organism.
When there is only one parent and no fusion of gametes. 3. It’s faster than sexual reproduction. body cell contain? 23 gamete: The sex cells (sperm and egg cells) which contain
Only mitosis is involved, so there is no mixing of genetic
information. The offspring are genetically identical 4. Many identical offspring can be produced when one set of genetic information.
(clones). conditions are favourable.
i chromosome: Found in the nucleus, they are made from
Complete the complementary strand to show which
long DNA molecules and passed from parent to offspring.
bases pair up.
d gene: A section of DNA that codes for a particular
male A B female sequence of amino acids which makes a specific protein.
g
Describe how three different organisms reproduce both A A C T A G G C A T T A T C A allele: A different form or variant of a gene.
sexually and asexually. T T G A T C C G T A A T A G T
dominant: Controls the characteristic, even if it is only
1. Malarial parasites reproduce asexually in the human
C D present on one chromosome.
host and sexually in the mosquito.
How many amino acids does this strand code for? 5 recessive: Only controls the physical characteristic if it is
E 2. Fungi reproduce asexually by spores, but also reproduce
present on both chromosomes.
sexually to give variation. Explain how a change in this DNA sequence could result
How many chromosomes are in cell B? 46 in a change in the protein that this gene codes for. homozygous: Two identical alleles for a characteristic.
3. Plants reproduce sexually, but some also reproduce
What is the process called that produces cell C from cell A? asexually. Strawberry plants reproduce asexually via If the DNA sequence changes, then it may code for a heterozygous: Different alleles for a characteristic.
meiosis runners; daffodils reproduce asexually via bulb division. different amino acid. If the amino acid sequence changes,
then a different shaped protein may be produced. genotype: The alleles present in an individual for a
How many chromosomes are in cell C? 23 particular characteristic.

How many chromosomes are in cell E? 46 phenotype: The physical appearance of an individual for a
particular characteristic.
What is the process that produces cell E called?
j
fertilisation Describe how protein synthesis occurs.
A template is made of the DNA. The template moves from the nucleus to the cytoplasm of the cell where it attaches
What happens to cell E next? to a ribosome. A carrier molecule attaches to every three bases of the template. The carrier molecule is attached to an
It divides by mitosis and the number of cells increases. amino acid. The amino acids are joined together to form a chain. The chain folds into the final shape of the protein.
These differentiate as the embryo develops.
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AQA GCSE Biology Topic 6: Inheritance, Variation and Evolution Answers
a d h j
Explain why it’s important for us to study the Give an example of a characteristic caused by a single gene. The diagram shows the inheritance of cystic fibrosis in Evaluate the process of embryo screening.
human genome. Some examples: eye colour, red-green colour blindness, one family. Student responses may cover the following:
It helps us to search for genes that are linked to different polydactyly, cystic fibrosis, tongue rolling, attached • The process used to collect cells has a risk of miscarriage,
types of diseases. Understanding inherited disorders earlobes, freckles, dimples, fur colour in mice. so sometimes a healthy foetus will be miscarried.

gives us more chance of repairing the genes or producing • Sometimes the tests can give a false-positive or false-
What causes most characteristics?
negative result.
successful medicines. It also helps us to trace the migration
multiple genes interacting
• Screening allows people to make choices about whether
patterns of humans from the past and develop a greater
they have a family or not.
understanding of human evolution.
• The decision to terminate a pregnancy is a very difficult
e one that will vary based on the individual’s views and
A woman with polydactyly is heterozygous for the
religious beliefs.
polydactyly allele. The woman marries a man who does
b not have polydactyly. Draw a punnet square diagram to • Some people decide not to have the screening to avoid
Give an example of variation between individuals that is
help you explain what the probability of their first child making these decisions.
affected by genetics (genetic variation). Use the symbol N for the allele for normal health and the
having polydactyly is. • Screening can allow a family to prepare for a child with
symbol n for the allele for cystic fibrosis.
Some examples: eye colour, dimples, inherited disease, an inherited disorder.
Use the symbol A for the dominant allele and the symbol a
natural hair colour, earlobes, natural skin colour, gender. What is the genotype for person A? Nn • Screening is expensive, so is not currently offered to
for the recessive allele.
1 mark for correct everyone.
Give an example of variation between individuals that is How do you know?
mum parental genotypes.
They don’t have cystic fibrosis, but they have passed on • However, if a child is born with a genetic disorder, it can
affected by the environment (environmental variation). A a 1 for complete
a cystic fibrosis allele to their daughter. This means they be expensive for society to provide the healthcare and
Some examples: language, religion, scars, fillings, ability punnet square. support needed.
a Aa aa must carry the allele. They don’t suffer from the disease
dad

1 for highlighting
to play an instrument. themselves, so they must carry the normal, dominant • Some people worry that genetic screening may lead to
a Aa aa the offspring with
allele. They are therefore heterozygous. ‘designer babies’.
Give an example of variation between individuals polydactyly.
that is affected by a combination of genetic and 50% or ½ offspring 1 for the correct Person A is pregnant with their third child. Use a genetic
environmental variation. probability. diagram to explain the probability that their child will have
have polydactyly
Some examples: height, weight, IQ. cystic fibrosis. k
Explain the benefits and risks of selective breeding.
f
Which sex chromosomes do human females carry? mum 1 mark for correct Selective breeding produces organisms that are useful to
XX N n parental genotypes. us and has improved our food production.
1 for complete
Which sex chromosomes do human males carry? N NN Nn

dad
c punnet square. It reduces the number of alleles in a population which
What causes new variants in the genes of a species?
XY 1 for highlighting reduces the variation of a species. If the environment then
Mutations/changes to the DNA code. n Nn nn
the offspring with changes the organisms may not be able to cope with the
Explain what effects this could have on the phenotype of g cystic fibrosis. change and may die out.
Use a punnet square to show the inheritance of sex. 25% / ¼ / 0.25 / 1 in 4
an organism. 1 for the correct
offspring have cystic fibrosis It can lead to inbreeding which can make a breed
It might have no effect at all and this is most common. mum probability.
particularly prone to disease or inherited defects. This
It might be harmful and mean the individual is less likely X X could cause a whole herd or crop to be affected by a
disease all at once.
to survive.
X XX XX
dad

It might produce a phenotype that is beneficial, making Y XY XY i

What is selective breeding?
the individual better suited to the environment - this The process by which humans breed plants and animals
is rare. What is the chance that a pregnancy produces a boy? for particular genetic characteristics.
50% / ½
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AQA GCSE Biology Topic 6: Inheritance, Variation and Evolution Answers
a c g h
Describe the process that farmers use to ensure they have Annotate the diagram to describe the process of Chemical analysis led Carl Woese to adapt the system
varieties of cow that produce lots of milk. genetic engineering. we used for classification.
Parents that have the desired characteristic/produce lots Describe how his system divides organisms.
human cell bacterium cell
of milk are chosen from the herd. Into three domains:
Only these parents are bred together. nucleus • archaea - primitive bacteria which live in extreme
From their offspring, only those that produce the most environments;
milk will be bred together. • bacteria (true bacteria);
plasmid taken
• eukaryote - these includes protists, fungi, plants
This is repeated over many generations, until all of the DNA containing from bacterium
and animals.
offspring show the desired characteristic. desired gene
removed from cell plasmid cut
Give four other examples of characteristics that might be with enzyme i
Complete the boxes to show the way Linnaeus classified
chosen for selective breeding in plants or animals.
enzymes cut enzymes insert living things.
1. Disease resistance in plants. human gene into
out desired gene
2. Animals that produce more meat. bacterium plasmid kingdom
3. Domestic animals with a gentle nature.
4. Large or unusual flowers. phylum

class

b order
What are GM crops?
Crops that have had their genes modified by
Bacteria reproduce rapidly. family
genetic engineering.
This creates bacteria with the new characteristic.
What are the benefits of GM crops? genus
d
Name two ways that cloning is carried out in plants.
They can be resistant to insect attack, herbicides or disease.
Tissue culture: uses small groups of cells from part of a species
They have increased yields.
plant to grow identical new plants.
They can be engineered to grow in more difficult climates.
Cuttings: uses a small piece of a plant to produce an How are organisms named?
identical plant to the parent plant.
By the binomial system of genus and species.

Use the diagram to describe the process of adult cell cloning.

e
What are the concerns about genetic engineering? The nucleus is removed from an unfertilised egg cell and j
What is evolution?
We can’t be sure what effects GM crops will have on populations of wild flowers and insects. the nucleus from an adult body cell (such as a skin cell) is
A change in the inherited characteristics of a population
Some people are concerned that we don’t know what affects they may have on human health. inserted into it as a replacement.
over time through a process of natural selection. This may
Some worry that it may lead to people wanting to manipulate the genes of humans to produce ‘designer babies’. An electric shock is used to stimulate the egg cell to divide
to form an embryo. The embryo cells will contain the same result in the formation of a new species.
genetic information as the adult skin cell.
When did the first simple life forms develop?
f When the embryo has developed into a ball of cells, it is
Describe how embryo transplants are used to clone animals. 3 billion years ago
inserted into the womb of an adult female to continue
Animal embryos are divided into several single cells before they have specialised. These are grown into embryos
developing. What evidence do we have for evolution?
in a laboratory.
1. fossils
The identical embryos are then transplanted into host mothers.
2. antibiotic resistance in bacteria
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AQA GCSE Biology Topic 6: Inheritance, Variation and Evolution Answers
a d e h
This is a fossil of the prehistoric bird Archaeopteryx. MRSA is resistant to antibiotics. The graph shows how Why can bacteria evolve rapidly? How did Lamarck’s theory differ from Darwin’s?
Archaeopteryx is now extinct. the number of MRSA infections has changed over the last They reproduce at a fast rate. He thought that changes that occur to the organism
Give some factors that could 15 years. during its lifetime are inherited by the offspring.
Explain how bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics.
contribute to a species extinction.
Mutations arise that produce new strains.
New predators, better competitors, i
Some mutations may cause the strain to become resistant Explain how the work of Mendel contributed to our
a catastrophic event (e.g. volcanic
to antibiotics. understanding of genetics.
eruption, meteor), changes to the
environment over time, lack of food, Bacteria are no longer killed by antibiotics, so they survive Mendel carried out breeding experiments with peas. He
new diseases. and reproduce. This increases the population of antibiotic bred pea plants with different characteristics and counted
resistant bacteria. the number of offspring of each type. He was able to
The resistant strain is spread between people because they predict how traits would be inherited.
b are not immune to it and there is no effective treatment. He thought that each characteristic was determined by
What are fossils?
separate ‘units’ that are passed on to offspring unchanged.
The remains of organisms from millions of years ago. They Describe the trend in the data.
These units were later called genes.
are now found in rocks. From 1993 to 2006, the number of deaths due to MRSA
increases from ~450 to ~2150. After 2006, the number
Give three ways fossils may be formed.
of deaths from MRSA starts to decrease and reaches ~650
1. From parts of organisms that have not decayed by 2011. f
Use Darwin’s theory of natural selection to explain how
because one or more of the conditions for decay were j
Explain what measures were put in place in England and the length of giraffe necks has increased over time. Why was the importance of Mendel’s discovery not
absent.
Wales in 2006 that caused the trend in the data shown on The population of giraffes will have had lots of variation recognised until after his death?
2. When parts of the organism are replaced by miner-
the graph. in neck length. They will have competed for food and At the time, nobody knew about genes or chromosomes
als as they decay.
Doctors only prescribed antibiotics when they were really resources. Those with the longest necks are more able to and people didn’t understand his theories. When scientists
3. As preserved traces of organisms, such as footprints,
needed, not for treating non-serious or viral infections. reach food and are therefore most likely to survive and observed chromosomes and how they move during cell
burrows and rootlet traces.
Information was given to patients telling them to complete reproduce. They then pass the alleles for the long necks division, they finally accepted his work.
their course of antibiotics, so all bacteria are killed and onto the next generation.
c none survive to mutate and form resistant strains.
What can we learn from fossils?
k
How organisms have changed over a long period of time. Patients with antibiotic resistant bacteria were isolated Explain the role that Alfred Russel Wallace played in the
from other patients. g publication of the theory of evolution by natural selection.
Why can scientists not be certain about how life began Give three reasons that it took a while before Darwin’s
Increased information about handwashing was provided theory of natural selection was accepted? He worked worldwide gathering evidence for evolution.
on earth?
for staff and visitors to hospitals and care homes. Alcohol 1. The theory challenged the idea that God made all He worked on warning colouration in animals. He
Many early life forms were soft bodied so left few
gel was provided throughout hospitals. the animals and plants that live on earth. independently proposed the theory of evolution by natural
traces behind. Most traces have been destroyed by
selection and published joint writings with Darwin in
geographical activity. 2. There wasn’t enough evidence at the time to
1858. This prompted Darwin to publish On the Origin of
convince a lot of scientists.
Species a year later. He did a lot of pioneering work on a
3. The mechanism of inheritance was not understood theory for speciation.
until 50 years after the theory was published.

l
The anole lizards are found on the Caribbean islands. There are around 150 species of the lizard which evolved from a single species that colonised the islands. Explain how two species of
the anole lizard, found on different Caribbean islands, could have evolved from a common ancestor.
• The ancestral populations of anole lizards were separated • The individuals in each population that were better adapted offspring, eventually.
(geographical isolation) because they were on different islands. to those conditions would survive and reproduce/natural • The two populations would be so different they could not
• There was genetic variation in each population, each environment selection occurs. successfully interbreed.
would have had different environmental conditions. • The alleles for the beneficial phenotypes were passed to their