Question 1 Medium
Name one cause of extinction.
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Answer: new predator
- Species die out when conditions change.
- A new predator is one cause.
Variation, natural selection and evidence for evolution: GCSE Combined Science Biology practice questions
A second set of questions on variation, natural selection and evidence for evolution. They are different from the ones on the topic page. Try each, then open the answer and compare your working.
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Question 2 Medium
Name one place where fossils may be formed without decay.
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Answer: ice
- Decay needs warmth and oxygen.
- Ice stops decay.
Question 3 Medium
A person has a scar on their knee from a fall. Is this caused by genes or by the environment?
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Answer: environment
- The scar came from a fall, not from parents.
- So it is caused by the environment.
Question 4 Medium
In natural selection, what is the contest between organisms for food, mates and space called?
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Answer: competition
- Organisms need the same limited things.
- This contest is competition.
Question 5 Hard
Why does a mutation need natural selection to spread through a population? Give the word for who survives and breeds.
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Answer: best adapted
- Individuals with helpful alleles survive.
- The best adapted survive and breed.
Question 6 Hard
Why are soft-bodied organisms rarely found as fossils? Give one word for what happens to them.
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Answer: decay
- No hard parts remain.
- They decay quickly.
Question 7 Hard
Most mutations have what effect on the phenotype?
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Answer: no effect
- A change in the DNA often does not change the protein made.
- So most mutations have no effect.
Question 8 Hard
Do individuals or populations change over many generations in evolution?
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Answer: populations
- Individuals do not change on purpose.
- The population changes because of who survives and breeds.
Quick checks
Short questions with options. Choose one before you open the answer.
Check 1
What is variation?
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Differences between individuals.
Check 2
What causes variation?
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Genes, the environment, or both.
Check 3
What is a mutation?
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A random change in a gene.
Check 4
What is evolution?
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A change in the inherited characteristics of a population over many generations.
Check 5
Describe natural selection in one line.
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Individuals best suited to the environment survive and breed, passing on their alleles.
Check 6
Why is there competition in a population?
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More offspring are produced than can survive.
Check 7
Who proposed evolution by natural selection?
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Charles Darwin.
Check 8
Why was Darwin’s theory slow to be accepted?
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It conflicted with religion, there was little evidence and the mechanism was unknown.
Check 9
What are fossils?
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The remains of organisms from millions of years ago, found in rocks.
Check 10
Name three ways fossils form.
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Hard parts replaced by minerals, no decay in ice, amber or peat, and traces such as footprints.
Check 11
Why is the fossil record incomplete?
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Soft-bodied organisms rarely fossilise, fossils are destroyed and many are not found.
Check 12
What is extinction?
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No individuals of a species are left alive.
Check 13
Name three causes of extinction.
Show answer
New predators, disease or competitors, environmental change and catastrophic events.
Check 14
What is an allele?
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A different version of the same gene.
Check 15
Give an example of a feature caused by genes.
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Eye colour.
Check 16
Give an example of a feature caused by the environment.
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A scar.
Check 17
What does the fittest mean in survival of the fittest?
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The best suited to the environment, not the strongest.
Check 18
Do individuals evolve or do populations evolve?
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Populations evolve over many generations.
Check 19
Which parts of an organism are most likely to form fossils?
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Hard parts such as bones and shells.
Check 20
What is thought to have caused the dinosaurs to die out?
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An asteroid hit the Earth and changed the climate.
Check 21
Why was Darwin’s theory not accepted straight away?
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Some people held religious views, and nobody knew how features were inherited.
Check 22
Are most mutations helpful?
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No. Most have no effect on the organism.
Check 23
Do individuals change on purpose to fit their environment?
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No. Those with helpful alleles survive and pass them on.
Check 24
Name two causes of variation in a population.
Show answer
Genetic differences (alleles) and the environment.
Check 25
What effect do most mutations have on the phenotype?
Show answer
No effect. Some have a small effect and very few have a large effect.
Check 26
How do resistant bacteria support the theory of evolution?
Show answer
Resistance arises by mutation and spreads by natural selection when antibiotics are used.
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