BSCS
Unit 3, Chapter 16
Population Genetics
1. Look at the photo on p. 416 of the Otarya byronia. Now
think of the students in your classroom. What does one group
have in common with the others?
2. Based on the diagram below, differentiate between
microevolution and macroevolution and give examples of each.
3. Define population genetics and gene pool.
4. Study the following diagram and explain it. What is the
frequency of the bb allele?
5. At what level of hierarchy does this represent?
6. What is the term given when two or more alleles of a gene
for a trait are present in a gene pool? What are the main forces
that change gene pools?
7. Is it possible for two people to have slightly different genes
and yet produce identical proteins? Explain.
8. What are the five major assumptions of the Hardy-Weinberg
model?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
9. What does the model idealize? The diagram below, is it
evolving or in equilibrium? How do you tell? Or can you?
10. Would a change in allele frequencies be more likely to
produce microevolution or macroevolution? Explain.
11. Explain why the concept of gene pools applies to
populations but not to species.
12. What does the Hardy-Weinberg model predict will happen
to allele frequencies in a polymorphic population from
generation to generation?
13. In the photos below are two individuals of the moth species
Biston betularia. One is black, the other peppered. Explain the
significance of the colorations, the historical context of them,
what historical cultural event associated with them, and how
their allele frequencies change.
14. J. B. S. Haldane, a population geneticist, suggested a
reason for the high frequency of the sickle-cell allele in Africa.
Describe the sickle cell phenomenon in rbc’s compared to
normal rbc’s, the root cause of the sickling, and how all of this
relates to malaria.
15. What is the one underlying cause of changes in gene pools
of large populations?
16. How does this affect the Hardy-Weinberg model?
17. What are the main mechanisms that affect gene pools?
18. Differentiate between gene flow and genetic drift from the
diagrams below.
A
B
19. Which has a minimal effect on large populations?
20. Why would it have a major effect on small populations?
21. Study the diagram below. Explain why it is called the
founder effect and how this involves genetic drift.
22. Study the following diagram and explain your understanding
of the bottleneck effect.
23. How do the bottleneck effect and the founder effect relate
to genetic drift and natural selection?
24. What is the term given to increased homozygosity?
25. What has happened to the cheetah populations due to
homozygosity?
26. Why are quantitative trait loci variable in most populations?
27. Are identical twins identical in EVERY way? Explain.
28. Read Biological Challenge on p. 432. What is a marker?
What did the researchers learn from this investigation on QTL’s?