Answers

9Ad Genes and extinction

1 Dinosaurs died out completely (became extinct) about 65 million years ago. Many scientists think
this was because a giant meteorite hit the Earth and threw massive amounts of dust into the
atmosphere. This blocked out the sunlight and so plants could not photosynthesise. The plants died
and animals could not get enough to eat.

2 -a red

b- A long bushy tail for balancing, or sharp claws for climbing trees, or sharp teeth to eat nuts and
seeds.

c- They can digest unripe acorns.

d- The greys will eat the acorns before the reds, and so there will not be enough food for the reds to
survive.

e- Sensible suggestion, such as provide food, stop grey squirrels entering certain areas, kill grey
squirrels

3- Seeds, gametes, pollen

4- One of: to protect other organisms because all organisms are interdependent, we may have new
uses of some organisms in the future

9Ad-4 Tiger and deer adaptations

Adaptations, clockwise from top left:

Fur pattern to provide camouflage.

Forward-facing eyes to spot prey and judge how far away it is

Large ears to hear danger.

Male can use antlers for protection.

Powerful legs to help it run fast.

Fur colour to match the surroundings for camouflage.

Eyes on the side of its head so it can see behind.

Large, sharp teeth to rip flesh.

Sharp claws to grab prey.

Powerful legs to help it run fast.

9Ad-6 .A well-adapted animal
1- Student’s own responses.

2 a- Student’s own responses.

b- Student’s own responses.

3 a- Ideas could include: killing predators or organisms that would out-compete their organism;
setting up breeding programmes; gene banks; or nature reserves.

b- One of: to protect other organisms because all organisms are interdependent; we may have new
uses of some organisms in the future.

9Ad-7 Adaptation problems

1 Ermine:

a- White fur means that it is camouflaged against the snow, allowing it creep up on prey unseen,
and/ or hide from predators.

b- Desert – the ermine’s fur will make it overheat; Lake – cannot breathe underwater/cannot swim
well.

c- If the temperature stays above freezing then there will be no snow and so the animal will stick
out, white against the green and brown vegetation.

d- Gametes (sperm cells and egg cells)

Cactus:

a- It doesn’t rain very often in the desert and so when it does rain the cactus can absorb a lot of
water quickly and store it for later use.

b- Arctic – it would freeze and this would damage its cells, or it would soak up too much water
during the spring/summer/autumn months. Lake – cannot take oxygen or carbon dioxide out of
water.

c- It will soak up too much water, which may make it burst.

d- Seeds

Fairy shrimp:

a- It can digest its food even at high pHs.

b- It would freeze in the Arctic and there is too little water in a desert.

c- Less acidic conditions mean that the shrimp’s enzymes may not digest food as efficiently and so it
may not get enough nutrition.

d- Gametes (sperm cells, egg cells)

9Ae-1 Natural selection
1 a- genes/genetic information

b- Pale moths would become rarer than black ones.

c- Birds are more likely to eat the paler ones because they are less well camouflaged against
surfaces polluted with soot.

2 a- Some birds like bird X arrived on the island. They had a range of beak lengths, some slightly
shorter than average and some slightly longer than average. There were many flowers and the
population of birds grew. However, in some years there was very little rain and so fewer flowers. All
the birds could get nectar from the shorter flowers. However, the birds with the longer beaks were
also able to get nectar from longer flowers. The birds with slightly shorter beaks could not feed from
these flowers. The birds with longer beaks got more food and so were more likely to survive and
reproduce. The next generation of birds then included more birds with slightly longer beaks. This
process repeated over thousands of years until all the birds had much longer beaks and looked
similar to bird Y. They had evolved.

b -natural selection

c -Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace

9Ae-4 Genetic variation and selection

1 natural selection – a process in which an organism is more likely to survive and reproduce than
other members of the species because it possesses a certain inherited variation

Evolution – a change in one or more characteristics of a population over a long period of time.

Inherited variation – differences between organisms that are passed on to offspring by their parents
in reproduction

2 a- There will be fewer white mice and more grey ones.

b -The grey ones are more difficult to spot by predators (more camouflaged) and so are more likely
to survive and reproduce (passing on this characteristic to the next generation).

3 a- inherited

b -continuous

c -far right of the graph (those with longer legs)

d -The birds most likely to get enough to eat are those that can get food from more different
areas/depths. They are more likely to survive and reproduce.
9Ae-5 Natural selection in birds
1 -leg length

2 a- Legs in the bird population have become longer (but there is still variation).

b -As the water level rises, birds with shorter legs may not get enough to eat. The birds most likely to
get enough to eat are those that can get food from more different areas/depths (i.e. those with
longer legs). They are more likely to survive and reproduce and pass the longer legs characteristic to
their offspring. The next generation will have a greater proportion of birds with longer legs. This
process then repeats itself.

9Ae-6 Evolution
1 a- inherited/genes/genetic information

b -Putting it on top may make the moths stand out to predators and so alter the result.

c -one from: they were eaten, they went to another area, or they died

d -the pale form

e -It was better camouflaged while resting on the unpolluted tree trunks.

2 a- Any answer which implies that the ancestor gave rise to later organisms.

b- B, A, C, D, E

c -Humans that happened to have a bigger skull and so a bigger brain could learn faster. They were
more able to learn where food and shelter were and how to hunt and so were more likely to survive
than others that had slightly smaller brains (especially when resources became scarce). Since they
were more likely to survive, they were more likely to reproduce and so the next generation would
have had slightly bigger skulls/brains. This process would have repeated itself.
9Ae-7 Fossils and evolution
1 a- A

b- D

c -they got bigger/longer; bigger eye sockets; flatter noses; bigger jaw bones

2- As the vegetation changes from soft leaves to tough ones, the animals that by chance had
variations in their teeth (hard ridges) that allowed them to better chew the grass and were more
likely to survive, especially in times when food was scarce. They would be more likely to survive and
so more likely to reproduce. The next generation would therefore have more animals with this
variation. Award additional credit for students spotting that modern horse teeth have ridges on
them to aid with grinding tougher plant material.

3 -a W, Z, Y, V, X

b -As the land dried out, the animals that by chance had variations in their feet that allowed them to
have feet that were better at fast running on the ground were more likely to escape predators. They
would be more likely to survive and so more likely to reproduce. The next generation would
therefore have more animals with this variation.