18 Populations and evolution

AQA Biology Exam-style mark scheme

Question
Answer Marks Guidance
number
1ai Continuous variation. Range of values/not 1
discrete categories/many categories/no gaps
1a ii Any two from: 2 max
1 Crossing over/chiasmata
2 Random segregation/independent
assortment
1b Any two from: 2 max Accept anomaly
1 Range influenced by single outlier/converse
for S.D.
2 S.D. shows dispersion/spread about mean
3 Range only shows highest and lowest
values/extremes
4 S.D. allows statistical use
5 Tests whether or not differences are
significant
5
2a Mutation 1 Accept description of mutation
2bi 0.6 2 Correct answer 2 marks
 352  Correctly identified values but
112   wrong final answer 1 mark
 2 
480
OR
(112  2)  352
960
2 b ii 128 1
2 b iii 1 Parental genotypes correct: both W W and
R S
2
WS gamete from each parent
2 WSWS offspring formed and identified as
susceptible
2c 1 Description: 4 max
decrease  rate of decrease slows with time

Explanation: Any three from:

2 Resistant rats/rats with WR allele survive OR
susceptible/WSWS rats killed
3 (More likely) to pass on WR allele to
offspring/less likely to pass on WS/higher
proportion of next generation has WR
allele/lower proportion has WS
4 Chance of mating with WSWS is
reduced/WSWS becomes rare
5 Rate of selection against WS slows because
WS allele is in heterozygote

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 18 Populations and evolution
AQA Biology Exam-style mark scheme

Question
Answer Marks Guidance
number
10
3a Any two from: 2 max
1 Small founder population/common
ancestor(s)/described
2 Genetic/reproductive isolation/small gene
pool/no immigration/inbreeding
3 High probability of mating with person
having the recessive allele/allele for
condition/high probability of inheriting 2
recessive alleles
3bi Correct answer  8.7 / 8.8 (%) 3 marks 3
OR
0.087/0.088 2 marks
OR
p  q  1 / p2  2pq  q2  1 / p  1 − 0.046 Allow ‘p’ for ‘q’
1
q2  /  0.0021 / q  0.046
480

and Answer  2pq / use of appropriate numbers

2 marks
3 b ii All homozygous recessive die/all those with the 1
condition die/none with the condition in the adult
population/selective disadvantage
6
4a Song may be heard over traffic noise by 1
potential mates
4b Any two from: 2 max Allow converse argument for birds
1 Those with higher pitch songs attract mates with low pitch song
and breed
2 More offspring
3 With alleles allowing birds to produce high
pitch song
4c Sympatric 1 Spelling of ‘sympatric’ must be
correct for the mark
4d Any three from: 3 max
1 In the laboratory/idea that birds are not in
natural environment
2 Hatch eggs from birds from the city and
from birds from rural environments
3 Measure the pitch/length of song
4 If birds hatched from birds in city sing with
higher pitch/shorter song then due to allele
frequency change
8

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 18 Populations and evolution
AQA Biology Exam-style mark scheme

Question
Answer Marks Guidance
number
5a 1 Divide beach into a grid/use tape measures 3
at right angles to form axes
2 Use random numbers from calculator/table
to find coordinates
3 Sample seaweed at this coordinate
OR
1 Use several line transects from high to low
water mark
2 Use random numbers from calculator/table
to find distances
3 Sample seaweed at this distance
5b Allows comparison as fronds are different 1
lengths
5ci Two of the beaches did not have any of the 1 max
seaweed (Fucus vesiculosus)
Very exposed beaches did not have the
seaweed
5 c ii There is no correlation between wave action 1
and the (mean) number of bladders per cm
5 c iii Spearman rank correlation 2
Looking for association between different
measurements from the same sample
8
6a 1 All the alleles 2
2 Of all the individuals in a population (at a
given time)
6b Any two from: 2 max
1 Different niches/habitats
2 Different reproductive behaviour
3 Gamete incompatibility
6c Any three from: 3 max
1 Geographical isolation/suitable
example/allopatric speciation
2 No/reduced gene flow between populations
3 Difference in mutations in each population
4 Different selection pressures (on A and B)
5 Increasing differences in gene
pools/increased genetic differences
(between A and B)
6 Causing reproductive isolation/eventually,
interbreeding is impossible
7

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