GCSE Biology Paper 2 - Variation

• What is meant by variation in biology?

  Differences in characteristics of individuals
• What are the main causes of variation in a population?

  Genetic, environmental, and combined causes
• What is the first cause of variation mentioned?

  Inherited alleles
• How does the environment cause variation in flowers?

  Flower color depends on soil pH
• How does height in humans illustrate combined variation?

  Height is influenced by genes and diet
• What is the source of massive genetic variation in a species?

  Mutations
• What are mutations?

  Random changes to DNA
• What is the effect of most mutations on phenotype?

  Most mutations have no effect
• How can some mutations influence phenotype?

  They can lead to traits like tallness
• What is a key idea about mutations and phenotypes?

  Rarely, mutations can lead to new phenotypes
• How can a new phenotype be beneficial?

  It can help adapt to environmental changes
• What happened to the rabbit population in the UK in the 1950s?

  A mutation made rabbits resistant to a virus
• What is the significance of the mutation in the rabbit population?

  It led to a new beneficial phenotype
• What can be found in the revision workbook related to variation?

  Questions on variation