Answers to Worksheets

Chapter 19
Worksheet 19.1 How different are you?
Answers will depend on what the student finds.

Worksheet 19.2 Genes for obesity

1 Diet and amount of exercise

2 We know that identical twins have the same genes. If identical twins are both obese, even
though they have different lifestyles, this suggests that genes are involved.

3 They found that people with type II diabetes were much more likely than other people to
have an allele of a gene called FTO.

4 a They had found a link between genes and type II diabetes. They already knew there was
a link between obesity and type II diabetes, so they thought perhaps there was a link
between the same genes and obesity.

b They found a link between the FTO allele and a person’s body mass. Having two copies
of this allele made a person, on average, 3 kg heavier than they would otherwise be.

5 As far as we know, the genes that people have are not changing. So, if the percentage of
obese people is changing, this must be caused by something else, not their genes.

© Cambridge University Press 2014 IGCSE® Biology Chapter 19: Answers to Worksheets 1