7.2 Populations

Question 1

Define species.

Answer 1

A group of organisms that can interbreed to produce fertile offspring

Question 2

Define population.

Answer 2

All the organisms of a particular species that live in the same place

Question 3

Define gene pool.

Answer 3

The range of different alleles existing for a particular locus within a population

Question 4

Define allele frequency.

Answer 4

The proportion of a certain allele within a gene pool

Question 5

What is the Hardy-Weinburg principle?

Answer 5

Allows the estimation the frequency of alleles in a population

Question 6

Give the assumptions made by the Hardy-Weinburg principle.

Answer 6

No mutations occur to create new alleles
No migration in or out of the population
No selection, alleles are equally passed on
Random mating
Large population

Question 7

Explain the Hardy-Weinberg equation for calculating allele frequency.

Answer 7

The frequencies of each allele for a characteristic must add up to 1.0 meaning p+q=1
Where p=frequency of the dominant allele
and q=frequency of the recessive allele