SB3k: Variation Keywords

Question 1

Acquired characteristic

Answer 1

A characteristic that can change during life, due to a change in the environment.

Question 2

Continuous variation

Answer 2

Continuous data can take any value between two limits. Examples include length, mass, time. Continuous variation is when differences in a characteristic are continuous.

Question 3

Discontinuous variation

Answer 3

Data values that can only have one of a set number of options are discontinuous. Examples include shoe sizes and blood groups. Discontinuous variation is when differences in a characteristic are discontinuous.

Question 4

Environmental variation

Answer 4

Differences between organisms caused by environmental factors, such as amount of heat, light, damage. These differences are called acquired characteristics.

Question 5

Genetic variation

Answer 5

Differences between organisms caused by differences in the alleles they inherit from their parents, or differences in genes caused by mutation.

Question 6

Mean

Answer 6

An average calculated by adding up the values of a set of measurements and dividing by the number of measurements in the set.

Question 7

Median

Answer 7

The middle value in a data set.

Question 8

Mode

Answer 8

The most common value in a data set.

Question 9

Normal distribution

Answer 9

When many individuals have a middle value for a feature, with fewer individuals having greater or lesser values. This sort of data forms a bell shape on charts and graphs.

Question 10

Range

Answer 10

The difference between the highest and lowest values in a set of data (usually ignoring any outliers or anomalous results).