18 Variation and selection

Practice questions on Variation and selection

• Explain why variation within a population is important for natural selection to occur. (4 marks, Explain)
• Explain how natural selection could lead to a population of peppered moths becoming darker… (4 marks, Explain)
• Explain why variation within a species is beneficial to the survival of that species. (4 marks, Explain)
• Describe the differences between continuous variation and discontinuous variation, giving … (4 marks, Describe)
• Describe how natural selection leads to a population of bacteria becoming resistant to an … (4 marks, Describe)
• A cactus plant and a water lily are examples of plants adapted to very different environme… (4 marks, Compare)
• A group of students measured the hand span of 30 students in their class. They found that … (4 marks, Explain)
• Xerophytes are plants adapted to live in dry habitats. Describe four adaptive features of … (4 marks, Describe)
• Hydrophytes are plants adapted to live in very wet habitats. Describe four adaptive featur… (4 marks, Describe)
• The Arctic fox lives in extremely cold environments. Describe four adaptive features of th… (4 marks, Describe)
• A camel is a mammal that lives in hot desert environments where water is scarce and temper… (4 marks, Describe)
• The polar bear lives in the Arctic, where temperatures are extremely cold and prey can be … (4 marks, Describe)
• A dog breeder wants to produce guide dogs that are calm in temperament and easy to train. … (4 marks, Describe)
• Selective breeding has been used to produce wheat plants with a higher grain yield. Descri… (4 marks, Describe)
• Explain how mutations and sexual reproduction contribute to genetic variation within a pop… (4 marks, Explain)