GCSE Biology · AQA 8461 · Topic 4.6
Inheritance, variation and evolution
Key points
- Sexual reproduction joins gametes made by meiosis and gives variation; asexual reproduction uses mitosis and makes clones.
- DNA is a double helix polymer; genes code for proteins. The genome is all the genetic material of an organism.
- Inheritance can be predicted with Punnett squares, using dominant and recessive alleles.
- Variation comes from genes and the environment. Evolution happens by natural selection.
- Humans change species by selective breeding and genetic engineering.
- Fossils, antibiotic resistance and the work of Darwin, Mendel and others support evolution. Organisms are classified into groups.
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Why do children look like their parents but never exactly the same, and how did millions of different species come to exist? This topic explains how genetic information is passed on, where variation comes from and how evolution by natural…
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