Heredity and evolution — Foundational

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Level 1: Foundational

Identify, describe, state, calculate — recall facts and use standard relationships (typical early Year 10).

1. Which process produces gametes with half the chromosome number of typical body cells?

   A)Mitosis, which keeps the same chromosome number in each daughter cellB)Meiosis, which halves the chromosome set in gametesC)Binary fission, as in many single-celled prokaryotesD)Photosynthesis, which builds sugars using light energy

2. In humans, the molecule that carries genetic instructions packaged in chromosomes is mainly:

   A)Starch, a carbohydrate used for energy storage in plantsB)DNA, the double-stranded molecule that stores genetic codeC)Glucose, a simple sugar cells use for fuelD)Oxygen, a gas used in cellular respiration

3. A gene is best described as:

   A)All the DNA on one chromosome treated as one inheritance unitB)A whole body cell imagined as the particle passed to offspringC)A DNA segment that typically codes for a functional product such as a proteinD)The nuclear envelope confused with the molecule that stores hereditary information

4. Alleles are:

   A)Identical copies of the whole genome in every cellB)Different versions of the same gene at one locusC)Organelles that make ATP for the cellD)Stages of mitosis that sort chromosomes

5. Mitosis in a diploid parent cell (2n) produces daughter cells that are:

   A)Typically 2n and genetically similar to the parentB)Typically n (haploid) like gametesC)Always gametes regardless of tissueD)Always genetically different from each other like meiotic products

6. In a monohybrid cross Aa × Aa with complete dominance, the expected phenotypic ratio dominant : recessive is:

   A)1 : 1, as in a test cross outcomeB)1 : 2 : 1, the genotype ratio for that crossC)3 : 1, because AA and Aa share the dominant phenotypeD)9 : 3 : 3 : 1, typical of a dihybrid cross

7. The genotype refers to:

   A)What you can observe, such as flower colourB)The allele combination carried, such as BbC)The environment alone, with no role for DNAD)Half the chromosome number found in a typical body cell

8. Chromosomes are duplicated before mitosis so that each daughter cell can receive:

   A)Half the DNA of the parent after one divisionB)A full diploid set when division partitions sister chromatids correctlyC)Only RNA copies instead of chromosomal DNAD)Random DNA fragments unrelated to the parent complement

9. Fertilisation joins gametes to restore, in many species:

   A)The diploid chromosome number in the zygoteB)A haploid number in the zygote in all speciesC)Only maternal mitochondrial DNA with no nuclear fusionD)A triploid chromosome set as the usual outcome

10. For a trait with complete dominance, calling an allele dominant or recessive describes its relationship to phenotype, not:

    A)Which allele is more common in a populationB)Which parent donated a given alleleC)Which allele is morally or physically strongerD)Whether the gene sits on a chromosome

11. A test cross with a homozygous recessive partner can help reveal whether a dominant-looking individual is:

    A)Always homozygous dominant without exceptionB)Haploid for that traitC)Always heterozygous without exceptionD)Homozygous dominant or heterozygous, distinguished by offspring ratios

12. Crossing over between homologous chromosomes mainly shuffles:

    A)Whole chromosomes between unrelated speciesB)Allele combinations carried on chromatids of homologuesC)Mitochondria between daughter cells onlyD)The chromosome number in typical somatic cells

13. Which line of evidence is commonly used to support evolution and common ancestry?

    A)Identical fossils at every age and site, showing no change over timeB)Homologous structures with different functions in related speciesC)Species that never change through time, contradicting evolutionary changeD)Only plants evolving while all animal lineages stay fixed

14. Variation in a population matters for natural selection because:

    A)It implies every individual survives equally regardless of environmentB)It implies reproduction stops once trait differences appearC)Selection acts on differences, and heritable variants may leave more offspringD)It claims variation blocks mutation from creating new alleles

15. Natural selection acts on traits that are:

    A)Only learned during life and never influenced by genesB)Often heritable and tied to survival or reproduction in a given settingC)Always harmful first before any can become advantageousD)Fixed and identical for every member of the population

16. A phenotype is:

    A)The observable trait arising from genotype together with environmentB)Always identical to genotype with no environmental influenceC)Only the DNA sequence of one chromosome, not outward formD)The haploid chromosome count in a gamete

17. Artificial selection differs from natural selection mainly because:

    A)Humans choose which organisms reproduce based on chosen traitsB)It never changes allele frequencies in a populationC)It removes all genetic variation in one generationD)It only acts on bacterial populations and nothing else

18. Homology in the limbs of vertebrates suggests:

    A)Identical DNA sequence in every species comparedB)Convergent evolution as the only possible explanationC)Shared ancestry with modification for different functionsD)No evolutionary relationship between those forms

19. Genetic drift shows stronger random effects when:

    A)The population is very large and sampling noise is tinyB)The population is small so chance can shift allele frequenciesC)Selection is always exactly zero in every generationD)Mutation never occurs to introduce new alleles

20. The modern synthesis links Mendelian inheritance with:

    A)Use and disuse as the sole driver of trait change across generationsB)Individual effort creating adaptive traits in one generationC)Mitosis alone as the full mechanism of evolutionary changeD)Population-level allele frequency change via selection, drift, mutation, and gene flow

21. Biogeography can support evolution when related species show:

    A)Spatial patterns that fit shared ancestry plus dispersal or regional historyB)Identical species lists on every continent with no endemismC)No dispersal across barriers at any time in Earth historyD)Signal only on oceanic islands and nowhere on mainlands

22. Embryological similarities among vertebrates are used as evidence because:

    A)All embryos are already identical to the adult stageB)Embryos disprove the role of DNA in developmentC)Shared developmental patterns can reflect common ancestryD)Embryonic stages are claimed to contain no genetic information

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