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Topic 7 of 8 · Form 6

Inheritance, selection and evolution

Meiosis and genetic variation (crossing over, independent assortment, random fertilisation); monohybrid and dihybrid crosses; codominance, multiple alleles, sex linkage, autosomal linkage, epistasis; the chi-squared test.

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Inheritance

Meiosis and genetic variation (crossing over, independent assortment, random fertilisation); monohybrid and dihybrid crosses; codominance, multiple alleles, sex linkage, autosomal linkage, epistasis; the chi-squared test.

Worked example: A dihybrid cross gives observed numbers 90, 34, 28, 8 (total 160) against an expected 9 : 3 : 3 : 1. Calculate χ².

Expected: 90, 30, 30, 10 → χ² = 0 + 0.533 + 0.133 + 0.4 = 1.07 (below 7.82, 3 df, p = 0.05 → not significant)

Gene control

Lac operon in bacteria; transcription factors in eukaryotes.

Selection and evolution

Variation (genetic and environmental); natural selection (stabilising, directional, disruptive); genetic drift and founder effect; Hardy–Weinberg principle; artificial selection (e.g. high-yield maize); speciation (allopatric and sympatric).

Exam tip: In χ² tests, state the null hypothesis, degrees of freedom, critical value and conclusion.

Check yourself

  1. What is epistasis?
  2. Give the Hardy–Weinberg equations.
  3. What is allopatric speciation?
Show answers
  1. Interaction between genes at different loci, where one gene affects the expression of another.
  2. p + q = 1 and p² + 2pq + q² = 1
  3. Formation of new species after populations are separated geographically.
Next topicClassification, biodiversity, conservation and genetic technology

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