6 Evolution and Population Genetics Online Quiz Questions

In population genetics, evolution is a change in allele frequencies in a population across generations, rather than a genetic change in an individual during its lifetime.

A plant's height reflects both its inherited alleles and the sunlight it receives. What term names this observable characteristic?

In a particular environment, heritable differences among organisms are associated with differences in reproductive success. Which process can cause alleles contributing to greater reproductive success to become more common over generations?

Which processes can create new genetic variants, reshuffle existing alleles, or introduce alleles into a receiving population? Select all that apply.

A dominant allele must be more common in the population and provide a reproductive advantage over a recessive allele.

In a small population, an allele becomes more common after a random event, even though it provides no reproductive advantage. Which process best explains the frequency change?

Which conditions are assumptions of the Hardy–Weinberg model? Select all that apply.

A few individuals establish a new, isolated population. By chance, their allele frequencies differ from those of the much larger population they came from. What is this specific form of genetic drift called?

A population's observed genotype frequencies differ from Hardy–Weinberg expectations. Explain what this difference tells you and why it does not, by itself, identify the evolutionary process responsible.

True or false: A dominant allele must be more common in a population or provide a reproductive advantage.

An organism with genotype $\text{Aa}$ produces gametes. According to the law of segregation, which alleles can a gamete receive?

What population-genetics process moves alleles between populations when migrants reproduce in a receiving population?

Which process is the ultimate source of new alleles in a population, rather than a process that reshuffles existing alleles?

Two genes are close together on the same chromosome. What is generally true about how they are inherited?

A few individuals colonize an island and establish a new population. Which process does this scenario illustrate?

In a particular environment, individuals with a heritable trait leave more offspring than individuals without it. Which process best explains why alleles associated with the trait may become more common over generations?

A population has allele frequencies $p=0.6$ and $q=0.4$ for two alleles. Under Hardy–Weinberg conditions, what is the expected frequency of heterozygotes?

In a hypothetical trait, a heterozygote displays the distinct effects of both alleles rather than an intermediate trait. What inheritance pattern does this illustrate?