How Genes and Environment Affect Traits Flashcards

1️⃣ Familiarise yourself with the flashcards:

  • Look through all the flashcards to see what's on both sides.
  • Make sure you understand the information on each card. If something's unclear, click the link to the revision notes at the bottom of the page for more details.

2️⃣ Test yourself:

  • Look at the question or prompt on each card and try to remember the answer before flipping it over.
  • Check the answer and make a note of any cards you find challenging and need to go over more.

3️⃣ Consistently Review and Practice:

  • Use spaced repetition: spend more time on the cards you struggle with and go over them more often.
  • Regularly review all the flashcards to help you better understand and retain the information over time.

Note: We may include questions that have multiple correct answers. It's useful to remember specific examples to understand these concepts better.

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What is a characteristic (or trait)?

A characteristic is a feature of an organism, such as eye colour, height or natural hair colour.

What is meant by genetic variation?

Genetic variation is differences between people that are caused by the genes they inherit from their parents.

What is meant by environmental variation?

Environmental variation is differences between people that are caused by factors in their surroundings, such as diet or climate.

Name two human characteristics mainly controlled by genes.

Examples include natural eye colour and blood group.

Name two human characteristics mainly affected by the environment.

Examples include scars and the language you speak.

Give one human characteristic affected by both genes and the environment, and explain how.

Height: genes set a basic pattern, but diet and health can make a person taller or shorter.

Why are identical twins useful for studying genes and the environment?

Identical twins have the same genes, so any differences between them are most likely due to different environments.

What is continuous variation?

Continuous variation is when a characteristic shows a full range of values with no clear groups, like height or body mass.

What is discontinuous variation?

Discontinuous variation is when a characteristic falls into clear groups with no values in between, like blood group.

How can both genes and lifestyle affect the risk of disease?

Some people inherit genes that raise their risk, but lifestyle factors like smoking, diet and exercise can increase or reduce that risk.

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