During the mid-twentieth century, the UK government passed laws to improve air quality. Since this time, there has been an increase in the number of white-bodied peppered moths and a decrease in the number of black-bodied moths. It is predicted that the black-bodied peppered moth will become extinct in the future.
a. What type of peppered moth was found in the greatest numbers in the UK in the early eighteenth century? Explain why.
b. What type of peppered moth was found in the greatest numbers in the UK by the late nineteenth century? Explain why.
c. Using your answers to parts a. and b., outline how evolution by natural selection can explain the colour changes in peppered moths over time.
8. a. What is biodiversity? b. State three reasons why you think it is important to maintain biodiversity.
9. a. Explain the term ‘adaptation’.
b. Identify three ways in which a fox is adapted to a grassland or woodland habitat.
c. Suggest what would happen to the population of foxes in an area if the hedges between fields were removed.
10. a. What is extinction?
b. Global warming and climate change pose a very real threat to species in polar regions. Name one such species and explain why they are at risk of extinction.
:Fig. 5.12
Past paper questions
1. Final Examination 2019, Question 14 Over time a bacterial population can evolve. Outline the theory of evolution by natural selection.
2. Final Examination 2022, Question 4 The theory of evolution by natural selection describes how organisms evolve and change over generations.
A student made the following statements about the theory of evolution by natural selection. Indicate if each of the statements is true or false by putting a tick () in the correct column. Statement
True
Evolution involves genetic mutations. Natural selection is based on competition. Natural selection involves survival of the weakest.