Work through the list without notes. If you cannot do a statement, follow its link, then come back. Guide = study guide; Practice = practice questions.
Understanding
- I can define genetic diversity and describe three ways to compare it between populations. (Guide: “What genetic diversity means”)
- I can explain why a species or population with little genetic diversity is at greater risk of decline or extinction, using one named example. (Guide: “Low diversity: a population at risk”; Practice Q1)
- I can explain why a genetically diverse population is more likely to contain individuals that survive a new pressure, such as an antibiotic or a disease. (Guide: “High diversity: a resilient population”; Practice Q5)
- I can explain how gene flow from another population can rescue a small, inbred population. (Guide: “Low diversity”; Practice Q4)
Skills
- I can use allele frequencies and the Hardy–Weinberg equations to predict how many individuals survive a pressure. (Guide: Worked example 1; Practice Q2)
- I can read a distribution of a trait and explain why its spread, not just its mean, decides who survives an extreme. (Guide: Figure 1)
- I can calculate percentage changes and growth over several doublings from population data. (Practice Q4, Q6)
- I can state a null hypothesis for an experiment that compares populations of different diversity. (Practice Q5)
Reasoning
- I can explain, with data, why an allele that is adaptive in one environment can be harmful in another. (Guide: “The same allele can help or harm”; Practice Q3, Q6)
- I can build a claim–evidence–reasoning argument that connects population data to natural selection. (Guide: Worked example 2; Practice Q4)
- I can suggest an alternative explanation for a trend and a way to test it. (Practice Q4)
- I can evaluate a conservation plan in terms of the genetic diversity it keeps or loses. (Practice Q7)
All ticked? Move on to Topic 7.12, Origins of Life on Earth, or return to the course roadmap.