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AQA GCSE BIOLOGY - INHERITANCE, VARIATION & EVOLUTION

Total questions: 32

Worksheet time: 16mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Which of the five kingdoms would a multicellular organism with no cell walls belong to?

a)

Prokaryota

b)

Animalia

c)

Fungi

d)

Plantae

2.

What is required for speciation to occur?

a)

Geographical separation of populations

b)

Genetically identical organisms

c)

Cross breeding of two different species

d)

All of these

3.

Which of these taxonomic groups contains the largest number of species?

a)

Class

b)

Family

c)

Order

d)

Phylum

4.

If you need both of the alleles to be the same to give a particular phenotype, that allele is…

a)

heterozygous

b)

dominant

c)

recessive

d)

stronger

5.

How many copies of each gene do you have in your DNA?

a)

1

b)

2

c)

4

d)

8

6.

How do bacteria reproduce?

a)

Asexual reproduction giving genetically identical offspring

b)

Sexual reproduction giving genetically identical offspring

c)

Asexual reproduction giving genetically varied offspring

d)

Sexual reproduction giving genetically varied offspring

7.

Why might there be gaps in the fossil record?

a)

Early life forms are soft bodied and not preserved

b)

Some fossils are lost or destroyed by geological processes

c)

The conditions for preservation were not met

d)

All of these

8.

Which of the following features is most likely to be found on a wind-pollinated plant?

a)

Bright coloured petals

b)

Sweet nectar

c)

Sweet smelling fragrance

d)

Stamens that hang outside the flower

9.

Which of these ideas is NOT part of the theory of natural selection?

a)

There is variation in a population

b)

The individuals that are best suited to the environment survive

c)

The gene for the desirable characteristic is passed on to offspring

d)

Eventually, fewer individuals in the population have the desirable characteristic

10.

What is the evidence that the fossil known as Lucy did not live in trees?

a)

No opposable big toe

b)

Small skull capacity

c)

Dexterous hands

d)

Stone tools found nearby

11.

In Mendel's pea plant experiments, what percentage of the offspring will have purple flowers when two purple heterozygous plants are bred together?

a)

100%

b)

75%

c)

50%

d)

25%

12.

What is the minimum number of bases used to code for an amino acid?

a)

1

b)

2

c)

3

d)

4

13.

What are alleles?

a)

Different forms of the same gene

b)

Pairs of chromosomes

c)

The characteristics you inherit

d)

The twisted shape of DNA

14.

Which of these is NOT an example of discontinuous variation?

a)

Eye colour

b)

Ear shape

c)

Weight

d)

Ability to roll tongue

15.

What is the genotype for a male offspring?

a)

XX

b)

XY

c)

YY

d)

Xx

16.

What evidence that supports Darwin's theory of evolution was not known until after he died?

a)

Comparing wildlife and fossils he found on his voyage

b)

Selective breeding shows a species can change over time

c)

There is always variation within a species

d)

Genes are the mechanism for inheritance

17.

What type of cloning is commonly used to produce cattle and horses?

a)

Adult cell cloning

b)

Embryo transplant

c)

Taking cuttings

d)

Tissue culture

18.

Which of these is an argument in favour of GM crops?

a)

Herbicide resistant crops can be developed to increase yield

b)

Pollen may fertillise unmodified crops

c)

Insects pollinating and feeding on GM crops may be harmed

d)

Not enough is known about how the gene inserts itself

19.

Which of the following is NOT a plausible cause of the extinction of dinosaurs?

a)

Climate change

b)

Habitat destruction by humans

c)

A single catastrophic event such as an asteroid impact

d)

New competitors, predators or diseases

20.

What is the final step in selective breeding?

a)

Breeding the parents together

b)

Selecting parents with desirable characteristics

c)

Repeating over many generations until all individuals have the desired characteristics

d)

Selecting pairs of offspring with desirable characteristics and breeding them together

21.

Which of these is a recessive genetic disorder?

a)

Marfan syndrome

b)

Cystic fibrosis

c)

Huntington's disease

d)

Polydactyly

22.

What did Franklin and Wilkins contribute to our understanding of DNA?

a)

How the bases in DNA were paired together

b)

That DNA is found in chromosomes

c)

That the molecule has a double helix shape

d)

All of these

23.

For parents with genotypes Bb and Bb, what are the possible genotypes of the offspring?

a)

BB, BB, bb, bb

b)

BB, Bb, Bb, bb

c)

Bb, Bb, Bb, Bb

d)

Bb, Bb, bb, bb

24.

Which of these features is not found on, or in, a sperm?

a)

Flagellum

b)

Acrosome

c)

Many mitochondria

d)

Yolk

25.

What are the four bases found in DNA?

a)

AGUT

b)

AUCT

c)

AGCT

d)

AGCU

26.

What is the female part of a flower called?

a)

Stamen

b)

Petal

c)

Carpel

d)

Sepal

27.

What is chorionic villus testing?

a)

Genetic testing of cells from the amniotic fluid of an unborn baby

b)

Genetic testing of cells taken directly from the body of an unborn baby

c)

Genetic testing of cells from the placenta of an unborn baby

d)

Genetic testing of the cells of an embryo created through IVF

28.

At what stage in a pregnancy might a nuchal translucency scan take place?

a)

8-10 weeks

b)

10-12 weeks

c)

11-13 weeks

d)

15-20 weeks

29.

What is the name of the cell formed immediately after fertilisation?

a)

Radicle

b)

Zygote

c)

Embryo

d)

Seed

30.

An organism such as bacteria or virus that carries a new gene is referred to as a…

a)

vector

b)

plasmid

c)

carrier

d)

holder

31.

Which of these was the key idea in Darwin's theory of evolution?

a)

Humans are directly descended from apes

b)

Organisms can pass on acquired characteristics

c)

All living things evolved from simple life forms

d)

All of these

32.

Which cells are produced by meiosis?

a)

2 diploid gametes

b)

2 haploid gametes

c)

4 diploid gametes

d)

4 haploid gametes