Module 7 - Populations

Question 1

What is a population?

Answer 1

A group organisms of the same species living in a particular area at a particular time that have the potential to interbreed

Question 2

What is an allele frequency?

Answer 2

How often the same allele appears in one population

Question 3

What is the Hardy-Weinberg principle?

Answer 3

It predicts that the allele frequencies from one generation to the next won’t change

Question 4

What assumptions have to be made when using the hardy-weinberg princple?

Answer 4

• No immigration, emigration, mutations or natural selection
• Needs to be random mating

Question 5

What does the hardy-weinberg equation calculate?

Answer 5

It calculates the frequency of particular alleles, phenotypes and genotypes

Question 6

What equation is used to calculate allele frequency?

Answer 6

p + q = 1

Question 7

What does p and q stand for in the p + q = 1 equation?

Answer 7

P = frequency of the dominant allele
q = frequency of the recessive allele

Question 8

What equation is used when predicting genotypes and phenotypes?

Answer 8

p^2 + 2pq + q^2 = 1

Question 9

What does each variable in the equation, p^2 + 2pq + q^2 = , mean?

Answer 9

P^2 = frequency of homozygous dominant genotype
2pq = frequency of heterozygous genotype
q^2 = frequency of homozygous recessive genotype

Question 10

What does it mean if the allele frequency over the years has changed?

Answer 10

This means that the hardy-weinberg principle doesn’t apply and an external factor has to have influenced this change

Question 11

What does it mean if the hardy-weinberg equation doesn’t add up to 1?

Answer 11

The population is evolving and allele frequencies are changing over time. This can be due to genetic drift, mutations and selection