CH-9 HEREDITY

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

Question 1. If a trait A exists in 10% \of a population of an asexually reproducing species and a trait B exists
in 60% of the same population, which trait is likely to have arisen earlier?
Ans: Trait B, because it is present in more members of the population. It is likely to have arisen earlier and
has now spread to 60% of the population. Trait A is new and has spread to only 10% of the population.

Question 2. How does the creation of variations in a species promote survival?

Ans: The variations provide stability to the population of various species by preventing them from getting
wiped out during adverse conditions.
The natural environment also changes, and variations in species which become suited to the environment
help it to survive.

Question 3. How do Mendel’s experiments show that traits may be dominant or recessive?
Ans: Mendel took pea plants with contrasting characteristics tall plant and dwarf (or short) plant. On cross
pollination, he got all tall plants in first generation (F1). But by the self-pollination of F1 tall plants, the
plants of second generation consisted of tall and short pants in the ratio of 3: 1. On the basis of these
experiments, the characteristics appeared in first generation were called dominant (i.e. tall plants) and the
characteristics that did not appear were called recessive (dwarf i.e. plants).

Question 4. How do Mendel’s experiments show that traits are inherited independently?
Ans: Mendel took two pairs of alternate expression of two traits and carried out dihybrid crosses by crossing
them. The traits appeared in first generation were termed as dominant. When he used these F1 progeny to
generate F2 progeny by self-pollination plants of different types were produced. In some plants both the
traits were dominant, while in some plants both were recessive and some plants exhibited mixed traits. This
indicates that traits are inherited independently.

Question 5.A man with blood group A marries a woman with blood group O and their daughter has blood
group O. Is this information enough to tell you which of the traits – blood group A or O – is dominant? Why
or why not?
Ans: This information is not enough. This is because each individual is carrying two alleles. The recessive
trait can occur only when who alleles are similar. It blood group A is dominant and O is recessive, then
daughter can have blood group O only when both recessive alleles occur together in mother, and father has
one allele of O and other of A.

Question 6. How is the sex of the child determined in human beings?

OR
“The sex of a newborn child is a matter of chance and none of the parents may be considered responsible for
it.” Justify this statement with the help of a flow chart showing determination of sex of a newborn.
Ans: Half of the male gametes (sperms) carry X chromosome and other half carry Y chromosomes. All the
female gametes carry only X chromosomes. When a sperm fertilizes an egg, the following situations become
possible.

1. (i) When a sperm carrying X chromosome fertilises an egg that contains only X chromosome), the
resulting zygote develops into a female (XX condition).
2. (ii) When a sperm carrying Y chromosome fertilises an egg (that contains only X chromosome), the
resulting zygote develops into a male (XY condition).
Thus, there are 50 – 50 chances of a male or female child and none of the parents may Sex determination in
humans be considered responsible for it.
The sex-determination mechanism is shown alongside.

Question 7 . What are the different ways in which individuals with a particular trait may increase in a
population?
Ans: Different ways in which individuals with a particular trait may increase in a population are as follow:
1. If it gives the benefit of survival through natural selection.
2. Due to a sudden increase in a particular trait in a population, i.e., by genetic drift.

Question 8. Why are traits acquired during the life-time of an individual not inherited?
Ans: The traits acquired during the life-time are changes in the non-reproductive cells of the organisms and
are not capable of being passed on to the next generation.

Question 9. Why are the small numbers of surviving tigers a cause of worry from the point of view of
genetics?
Ans: The small numbers of surviving tigers are a cause of worry from the point of view of genetics because
in tigers there are negligible genetic variations. Due to this they are not well adapted. The rapid
environmental changes cannot be favorable for them. If these changes are not controlled, tigers would be
wiped out.

Question 10. What factors would lead to the rise of a new species?
Ans: The factors that would lead to the rise of a new species are the following:
1. Geographical isolation of a population caused by various types of barriers (such as mountain ranges,
rivers and sea). The geographical isolation leads to reproductive isolation due to which there is no
flow of genes between separated groups of population.
2. Genetic drift caused by drastic changes in the frequencies of particular genes by chance alone.
3. Variations caused in individuals due to a natural selection.

Question 11. Will geographical isolation be a major factor in the speciation of a self- pollinating plant
species? Why or why not?
Ans: The geographical isolation cannot be major factor in the speciation of a self-pollinating plant species
because it does not have to look the plants for its process of reproduction to be carried out.
Question 12. Will geographical isolation be a major factor in the speciation of an organism that reproduces
asexually? Why or why not?
Ans: Geographical isolation cannot be a major factor in the speciation of an asexually reproducing organism
because it does not require any other organism to carry out reproduction.

Question 13. Give an example of characteristics being used to determine how close two species are in
evolutionary terms.
Ans: If similar characteristics are shown in different organisms, then these are considered to be inherited
from the common ancestry. It also shows the closeness of the species.
For example, bats and birds have some similarity in their wings, so they are closely related, while lizard and
squirrel do not have wings so these are not closely related to the birds and bats.

Question 14. Can the wing of a butterfly and the wing of a bat be considered homologous organs ? Why or
why not?
Ans: The wings of a butterfly and the wings of a bat cannot be considered to be homologous organs because
they have different basic designs though they are used for the same purpose of flying. They are analogous
organs.

Question 15. What are fossils? What do they tell us about the process of evolution?
Ans: Fossils: Fossils are the remains or traces of a dead organism. These are formed through the formation
of sedimentary rocks. They provide following information on the process of evolution.
1. They tell about the changes that occurred on the earth’s surface and the corresponding organisms.
2. They tell about the gradual development of complex structured organisms from simple structured
organisms.
3. It is known through them that birds are evolved from reptiles.
4. They state that angiosperms are developed from pteridophytes and gymnosperms.
5. They exhibit the process of human evolution.

Question 16. Why are human beings who look so different from each other in terms of size, colour and looks
said to belong to the same species?
Ans: This is because although genetic makeup of humans may be slightly different in different races of
people, there is no reproductive isolation. Reproductive isolation differentiates one species from the other.
Human beings different in size, colour and looks can marry among themselves and produce fertile offspring.

Question 17. In evolutionary terms, can we say which among bacteria, spiders, fish and chimpanzees have a
‘better’ body design? Why or why not?
Ans: Bacteria is a primitive organism as they came into being very early in evolution. But these organisms
are still surviving in the present conditions after millions of years. This is because they have adapted well to
the changing environment over these years. Same is the case for all other organisms like spiders, fishes and
chimpanzees which have adapted to their environment and have survived. Therefore, all the organisms
which exist have a body design which is better as it is suited to their environment.

CHAPTER END QUESTIONS

Question 1.A Mendelian experiment consisted of breeding tall pea plants bearing violet flowers with short
pea plants bearing white flowers. The progeny all bore violet flowers, but almost half of them were short.
This suggests that the genetic make-up of the tall parent can be depicted as:
(a) TTWW (b) TTww (c) TtWW (d) TtWw
Answer: (c) TtWW

Question 2. An example of homologous organs is:

(a) our arm and a dog’s fore-leg (b) our teeth and an elephant’s tusks
(c) potato and runners of grass (d) all of the above
Answer: (d) All of the above

Question 3. In evolutionary terms, we have more in common with :

(a) a Chinese school-boy (b) a chimpanzee (c) a spider (d) a bacterium
Answer: (a) A Chinese school-boy

Question 4. A study found that children with light coloured eyes are likely to have parents with light
coloured eyes. On this basis, can we say anything about whether the light eye colour trait is dominant or
recessive? Why or why not?
Ans: This information is not complete. On the basis of this, it cannot be decided light colour trait is
dominant or recessive. So, it cannot be said until one does not know the nature of this trait in the parents.

Question 5. How are the areas of study-evolution and classification interlinked?

OR
‘Two areas of study namely ‘evolution’ and ‘classification’ are interlinked”. Justify this statement.
Ans: Classification of organisms is based on relative similarities and differences among organisms.
Resemblances in organisms are because they have arisen from a common ancestor and differences in them
are due to adaptations to different types of environment. Since the organisms can be graded in order of
increasing complexity it indicates at the concept of evolution.

Question 6. Explain the terms analogous and homologous organs with examples.
Ans: Analogous organs: Those organs which have different basic structure (or different basic design) but
have similar appearance and perform similar functions are called analogous organs.
For example, The wings of an insect and a bird are analogous organs.
Homologous organs: Those organs which have the same basic structure (or same basic design) but
different functions are called homologous organs.
For example, The wing of a bat, flipper of a seal, front leg of a horse and arm of a man are homologous
organs.

Question 7. Outline a project which aims to find the dominant coat colour in dogs.
Ans: Suppose a black homozygous male is mated with a white homozygous female. If the progeny has all
black dogs then the dominant coat colour is black.

Question 8. Explain the importance of fossils in deciding evolutionary relationships.

Ans: Fossils play important role in providing evolutionary evidences because by knowing the age of fossils
we can know about the evolution process of an organism.
For example, a fossil bird called archaeopteryx that looked like a bird had many other features of reptiles. It
had feathered wings like those of birds, but teeth and tail like those of reptiles. Archaeopteryx is, therefore, a
connecting link between the reptiles and birds, and hence suggests that the birds have evolved from the
reptiles.

Question 9. What evidence do we have for the origin of life from inanimate matter?
Ans: A British scientist J.B.S. Haldane at first in 1929 suggested that life is originated from inanimate
matter. According to him life must have developed from the simple inorganic molecules which were present
at that time. Later, Miller and Urey in 1953 presented its evidences. They assembled an apparatus to create
an early earth atmosphere which was supposed to consist of gases like methane, ammonia and hydrogen
sulphide, etc. over water. This was maintained at a temperature just below 100°C and electric sparks were
then passed through the mixture of gases to stimulate lightning for about one week. At the end of one week,
it was found that about 15 per cent of carbon (from methane) had been converted into simple compounds
and amino acids which make up protein molecules formed in living organisms. This experiment provides the
evidence that the life originated from inanimate matter (or lifeless matter) like inorganic molecules.

Question 10. Explain how sexual reproduction gives rise to more viable variations than asexual
reproduction. How does this affect the evolution of those organisms that reproduce sexually?
Ans: During sexual reproduction there is ‘crossing over’ of chromosomes, that gives rise to variations.
These variations are inherited and increase the chances of survival of an organism.
1. In sexual reproduction variations may occur due to errors in DNA copying.
2. There may be variations due to interchange of homologous chromosomes during crossing over of
male and female.
3. In sexual reproduction, it is not predetermined that which gamete would fuse with another gamete. It
depends only on chance. It is also a reason of variation.
These variations enable the organisms to adapt themselves to the changing conditions and also help to
give rise to new species.

Question 11. How is the equal genetic contribution of male and female parents ensured in the progeny?
Ans: Genetic material in most organisms is present in pairs of chromosomes. Gametes in the sexually
reproducing organisms are formed by the process of meiosis during which half of the genetic material goes
into each gamete. When the gametes from male and female parents fuse with each other during sexual
reproduction, the normal complement is restored. Half of the genetic material comes from the female and
half from the male.

Question 12. Only variations that confer an advantage to an individual organism will survive in a population.
Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?
Ans: Yes, variations that confer an advantage to an individual organism are inherited. The organism can
survive longer in an environment and maintain its existence in the population.

CHOOSE THE CORRECT ANSWERS:

Question 1. Human teeth and elephant’s tusk are

(a) Analogous organs (b) Vestigial organs (c) Homologous organs (d) Rudimentary organs

Question 2. Independent inheritance of two separate traits, shape and colour of seeds in Mendel’s cross on
pea plants resulted in a observable ratio of:
(a) 3 : 1 (b) 9: 3 : 3 : 1 (c) 1 : 1 (d) 9 : 4 : 2 : 1
Question 3. Which of these is not a vestigial organ in human beings?
(a) Appendix (b) Wisdom tooth (c) Nictitating membrane (d) Gall bladder

Question 4. Evolution of wild cabbage is an example of:

(a) Artificial selection (b) Natural selection (c) Mutation (d) Genetic drift

Question 5. The modern-day Human species has evolved from its earliest ancestors who lived in:
(a) Asia (b) Australia (c) Africa (d) China

Question 6. Two pink coloured flowers on crossing resulted in 1 red, 2 pink and 1 white flower progeny.
The nature of the cross will be
(a) double fertilization (b) self-pollination
(c) cross fertilization (d) no fertilization

Question 7. Which of the following statement is incorrect?

(a) For every hormone there is a gene. (b) For every protein there is a gene.
(c) For production of every enzyme there is a gene. (d) For every molecule of fat there is a gene

Question 8. If a round, green seeded pea plant (RR yy) is crossed with wrinkled, yellow seeded pea plant (rr
YY), the seeds produced in F1 generation are
(a) round and yellow (b) round and green (c) wrinkled and green (d) wrinkled and yellow

Question 9. In human males all the chromosomes are paired perfectly except one. This/these unpaired
chromosomes is/are
(i) large chromosome (ii) small chromosome (iii) Y-chromosome (iv) X-chromosome
(a) (i) and (ii) (b) (iii) only (c) (iii) and (iv) (d) (ii) and (iv)

Question 10. A zygote which has an X-chromosome inherited from the father will develop into a
(a) boy (b) girl (c) X- chromosome does not determine the sex of a child
(d) either boy or girl

Question 11. New species may be formed if

(i) DNA undergoes significant changes in germ cells (ii) chromosome number changes in the gamete
(iii) there is no change in the genetic material (iv) mating does not take place
(a) (i) and (ii) (b) (i) and (iii) (c) (ii), (iii) and (iv) (d) (i), (ii) and (iii)

Question 12. Two pea plants one with round green seeds (RRyy) and another with wrinkled yellow (rrYY)
seeds produce F1 progeny that have round, yellow (RrYy) seeds. When F1 plants are selfed, the F2 progeny
will have new combination of characters. Choose the new combination from the following:
(i) Round, yellow (ii) Round, green (iii) Wrinkled, yellow (iv) Wrinkled, green
(a) (i) and (ii) (b) (i) and (iv) (c) (ii) and (iii) (d) (i) and (iii)

Question 13. A basket of vegetables contains carrot, potato, radish and tomato. Which of them represent the
correct homologous structures?
(a) Carrot and potato (b) Carrot and tomato (c) Radish and carrot (d) Radish and potato

Question 14. If the fossil of an organism is found in the deeper layers of Earth, then we can predict that
(a) the extinction of organism has occurred recently
(b) the extinction of organism has occurred thousands of years ago
(c) the fossil position in the layers of Earth is not related to its time of extinction
(d) time of extinction cannot be determined
Question 15. Select the group which shares maximum number of common characters.
(a) two individuals of a species (b) two species of a genus
(c) two genera of a family (d) two genera of two families