Anthropology 300 Summer 2007 Homework #1
Please answer the following questions about genetics on a separate piece of paper. Your
answers are due on Wednesday June 20th and are worth 5% of your total grade in the
class. You do NOT need to write in complete sentences (this isn’t an English class).
1. What are Darwin’s four postulates for evolution by natural selection?
2. Explain the differences between directional selection, stabilizing selection, and
disruptive selection.
3. Name the four DNA bases. What pairs with what? Name the four RNA bases.
What pairs with what?
4. What is the function of mRNA? What is the function of tRNA?
5. What are the end products of mitosis in humans (how many cells are produced
and how many chromosomes does each new cell contain)? What are the end
products of meiosis in humans (how many cells are produced and how many
chromosomes does each new cell contain)?
6. Explain dominance and recessiveness.
7. The presence of Darwin’s tubercle (a pointy projection of cartilage on the inside
of the earlobe) is controlled by a single gene. The allele coding for Darwin’s
tubercle (D) is dominant to the allele coding for no Darwin’s tubercle (d). A male
who is homozygous recessive for Darwin’s tubercle produces offspring with a
female who is homozygous dominant for Darwin’s tubercle. What percentage of
their children will have a Darwin’s Tubercle? Show your work with a Punnet
square.
8. Individuals with type O blood are often referred to as “universal donors” with
respect to red blood cells (they can donate red blood cells to individuals of any
blood type). Are type O individuals also universal donors of whole blood? Why
or why not?
9. A population in Hardy Weinberg equilibrium for MN blood type has an N allele
frequency of .3. What are the frequencies of the three genotypes (MM, MN, and
NN)?
10. Explain the differences between Inter- and Intra- population variation. What do
these two different types of variation indicate about the validity of the “race
concept” in humans?