HKALE BIOLOGY | 30-31 Evolution | P.

1. 1991/IA/8
Evolutionary theory is supported by evidence from the following areas. Briefly describe how each has
contributed to the support of the theory.
(a) selective breeding
(b) paleontology (fossils)
(6 marks)
2. 1996/IIA/3a
(i) What is a species?
(2 marks)
(ii) Name and describe the various isolation mechanisms which may lead to the formation of a new
species.
(7 marks)

3. 1997/IIA/3a
What are the processes that generate genetic variations in flowering plants? Explain the mechanisms
involved. (6 marks)

4. 2006/IA/8
(a) Suggest two ways in which scientists can make use of fossil records in their study of the evolutionary
elationship of organisms. (2 marks)
(b) Suggest two limitations of using fossil records as evidence of evolution. (2 marks)

5. 2007/IIA/2
To explain the diversity of life forms on Earth, Darwin proposed a theory that different species arose by
gradual changes from ancestral stocks. It would be possible to identify the evolutionary relationships of
different species by examining the similarities and differences between them and comparing them with
pre-existing life forms. Evidence of evolution can be drawn from a wide range of sources, e.g. fossils,
comparative anatomy, and comparative biochemistry.
(a)(i) What are fossils? (2 marks)
(ii) Discuss how the study of fossils can provide evidence for evolution. What are the limitations of
using fossils as evidence for evolution? (5 marks)
(c) In comparative biochemistry, one can study the structures of the same type of protein, such as
haemoglobin, produced by different organisms. The table below shows the differences between the
amino acid sequences in the polypeptide chains of haemoglobins of four primate species:

Number of amino acids in the polypeptide chain different from

that of humans
Primate species
α-chain β-chain γ-chain
(141 amino acids) (146 amino acids) (146 amino acids)
Human 0 0 0
Chimpanzee 0 0 1
Gibbon 3 3 2
Gorilla 1 1 1

(i) Based on the above information, construct an evolutionary tree of the four primate species
assuming that they arose from the same ancestor. (2 marks)
(ii) What is the assumption made when constructing the evolutionary tree of organisms based on the
information in the above table? Explain the biological principle underlying your assumption.
(4 marks)
(d) A modern classification system can reflect the evolutionary relationships of organisms.
(i) Explain how the taxonomic hierarchy in the modern classification system reflects the evolutionary
relationships of organisms. (3 marks)
(ii) Why is it impossible for two species of organisms grouped under the same family to be put in
different classes? (1 mark)
 HKALE BIOLOGY | 30-31 Evolution | P.2

Natural Selection
1. 2003/IC/13d
Explain why prolonged antibiotic treatment will cause health risk to a human community. (lines 8-10)
(3 marks)
2. 2006/IC/13c
Antibiotics could control tuberculosis well in the past but subsequently failed to cure the diseased
prisoners and eventually lost its effectiveness. Account for this. (lines 12-15) (4 marks)

Artificial Selection
1. 1995/I/11c
A horticulturist collected a wild plant with giant flowers and long internodes. He crossed it with a
homozygous cultivar (a cultivated variety of the same species) which had small flowers and short
internodes. In the F1 progeny of this cross, two phenotypic classes were obtained. They were plants with
giant flowers and long internodes and plants with small flowers and long internodes. The phenotypic ratio
was 1:1.
(i)(2) design a breeding programme to obtain a plant with giant flowers and short internodes by selecting
parental plants from amongst the cultivar and the two classes of F1 plants. Explain the genetic basis
of your programme. (Do not include genetic diagrams in your answer.)
(4 marks)
Note: This plant species can undergo both self and cross pollination.
(ii) What practical steps would you take to ensure the type of pollination in the cross suggested in your
programme in (i)(2)?
(2 marks)
(iii) Both vegetative propagules and seeds can be produced from a plant with giant flowers and short
internodes. Which of these products would you sell to guarantee that these desirable properties will
appear in the next generation? Explain your choice.
(1.5 marks)

2. 2000/IIA/1c
Discuss how gene mutation and artificial selection have been involved in the domestication of cultivated
wheat from its wild ancestor. What is the long-term effect on the characteristics of the wheat population if
man ceases to apply artificial selection to the wheat?
(8 marks)
 HKALE BIOLOGY | 30-31 Evolution | P.3

3. 2003/IIA/3c
Crops that are drought resistant are economically desirable because they can survive well in environments
that have a limited water supply, whereas crops that are drought sensitive cannot. Drought-resistant crops
can produce a metabolite that can adjust the osmotic potential of the cell sap in the root.

Conventional breeding work is carried out to obtain a drought-resistant and high-grain-yield crop that is
stable (i.e. homozygous). The following flow chart outlines the breeding procedure:
(N.B. It is known that the allele for drought resistance is dominant over the allele for drought sensitivity.
Grain yield is a polygenic trait.)

(i) Both parental crops bear bisexual flowers. Briefly describe the methods that can be used to prevent
self pollination and to ensure cross pollination between the two parental crops.
(4 marks)
(ii) Using a flow chart, show the sequence of selection processes and kind(s) of crosses to complete the
above breeding procedure. In your flow chart, indicate the method you would use to select plants that
are drought-resistant.
(5 marks)