Science (086) — AI-generated practice question

Asexual reproduction creates new individuals from a single parent through DNA copying. Although minor errors during DNA copying introduce some variation, the mechanism is largely identical each time, so very little variation is produced.

Sexual reproduction involves two individuals combining their DNA. This means traits from two parents are inherited separately and can appear in new combinations in the offspring. This mixing of genetic material allows considerably more variation to be generated, maximising the number of successful variations in the population.

Source: Chapter 7 (What you have learnt); Chapter 8 (Introduction)

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• The key contrast is: asexual = one parent, variation only from DNA copying errors (rare/minor); sexual = two parents, variation from combination/mixing of genes (much greater).
• Examiners expect you to name the source (one parent vs. two parents) and the mechanism (DNA copying errors vs. new combinations of traits).
• The phrase "new combinations of traits" from the Chapter 8 summary is a scoring keyword — use it.
• Do not write more than 3–4 sentences; this is a 3-mark answer.