Science (086) — AI-generated practice question

The population of pea plants (reproducing sexually) is more likely to have survivors.

Sexual reproduction generates greater variation among offspring due to the combination of genetic material from two parents. When environmental temperature changes suddenly, some individuals with favourable variations may survive and reproduce.

Asexual reproduction produces offspring that are nearly identical to the parent, with only minor variations from DNA copying errors. So if the temperature change is lethal to the parent type, most or all bacteria are likely to die.

Thus, greater variation in sexually reproducing populations increases the chance of some individuals surviving environmental changes.

Source: Chapter 7, Section 7.1.1; Chapter 8, Section 8.1

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• The key concept being tested is variation and survival — more variation = better chance of some individuals surviving a change.
• Examiners expect you to: (1) name the correct population, (2) link sexual reproduction to greater variation, (3) link asexual reproduction to near-identical offspring with little variation.
• The textbook example of heat-resistant bacteria dying in a heat wave directly supports this answer — use it as your evidence for asexual reproduction.
• Don't write about the mechanism of reproduction in detail; focus on variation as the reason for survival.