ABK –SSJ Class X

Ch-8 Heredity
CLASS X SCIENCE PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTIONS
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ABK -SSJ
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Heredity and Significance of Chromosomes
1.What is gene? [2014]
Ans. It is a segment of DNA that is responsible for a specific trait/ protein/hereditary function.
2.What is heredity? [ 2015]
Ans. The transmission of characters or traits from parents to their offspring (children) is termed as heredity.
3.What is DNA ?Where is DNA found in a cell? [2015]
Ans. DNA is the carrier of hereditary information from parents to the next generation / Hereditary material present
in all living cells.
DNA is found in the nucleus of the cell .
4.Name the information source for making proteins in the cells. No two individuals are absolutely alike in a
population." Why?
Ans.Cellular DNA
No two individuals are absolutely alike in a population due to varaiations taking place during the process of DNA
copying.
5.What is DNA copying? State its importance [2015]
Ans.A process where a DNA molecule produces two similar copies of itself in a reproducing cell.
Importance –
(i) It makes possible the transmission of characters from parents to the next generation.
(ii) It causes variation in the population.
6.What are chromosomes? Explain how in sexually reproducing organisms the number of chromosomes in the
progeny is maintained. [2015] Or
The chromosomal number of the sexually reproducing parents and their offspring is the same." Justify this
statement. [2013,2014]
Ans.Chromosomes – Thread like structures made up of DNA found in the nucleus.
Many sexually reproducing organisms have special lineage of cells/gametes in specialized organs which have only
half the number of chromosomes as compared to non-reproductive body cells.
Thus when these germ cells from two individuals unite during sexual reproduction to form a zygote (new
individual), it results in re-establishment of the same number of chromosomes in the off springs as that of the parent.
7. What is the effect of DNA copying, which is not perfectly accurate, on the reproduction process? How does the
amount of DNA remain constant though each new generation is a combination of DNA copies of two individuals
[2014]

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Ans. The DNA copying which is not perfectly accurate in the reproduction process results in variations in
populations for the survival of species. The amount of DNA remains constant because the gametes are special type of
cells called reproductive cells which contain only half the amount of DNA as compared to the normal body cells of
an organism.
8. How do organisms, whether reproduced asexually or sexually maintain a constant chromosome number through
several generations? Explain with the help of suitable example. [2016]
Ans. During asexual reproduction the DNA (in the chromosomes) of the cells involved are copied and then equally
divided among the two daughter cells formed. Thus, chromosome number remains unchanged.
In sexual reproduction, organisms produce gametes through a special type of division, meiosis – reductional division,
in which the original number of chromosomes becomes half. These two gametes combine to form the zygote and the
original number of chromosomes is restored.
Example:- In humans, the parents father and mother each have 46 or 23 pairs of chromosomes. In the gametes – the
sperm has half the number of chromosomes i.e., 23 and the egg also has 23 chromosomes, when the sperm and the
egg fuse, the zygote has 46 or 23 pairs of chromosomes. Thus, the chromosome number remains constant.
Check-The number of chromosomes in parents and offsprings of a particular species undergoing sexual
reproduction remain constant due to [2023]
(a) doubling of chromosomes after zygote formation
(b) halving of chromosomes after zygote formation.
(c) doubling of chromosomes before gamete formation.
(d) halving of chromosomes at the time of gamete formation.
Ans. (d) halving of chromosomes at the time of gamete formation.
Contribution of Mendel –“ laws of inheritance
9. A Medelian experiment consisted of breeding pea plants bearing violet flowers with pea plants bearing white
flowers. What will be the results in F1, progeny? [2018]
Ans. Violet flowers
10. Name the plant Mendel used for his experiment and mention the reason also. What type of progeny was
obtained by Mendel in F1 and F₂ generations when he crossed the tall and short plants? Write the ratio he obtained
in F₂ generation plants. [2019]
Ans. Pea Plant / Garden pea / Pisum sativum
Reasons –
(i) Pea plant is small and easy to grow.
(ii) Short life cycle.
(iii)Both self and cross pollination can be made possible.
F1 – All tall; F2- Tall and short
Ratio –
Phenotypic ratio Tall : Short 3 : 1
Genotypic ratio 1:2:1
11. If we cross pure-bred tall (dominant) pea plant with pure-bred dwarf (recessive) pea plant we will get pea plants
of F₁ generation. If we now self-cross the pea plant of F1, generation, then we obtain pea plants of F₂ generation.

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(a) What do the plants of F1, generation look like?
(b) State the ratio of tall plants to dwarf plants in F₂ generation.
(c) State the type of plants not found in F₁ generation but appeared in F2 generation, mentioning the reason for the
same. [2012]
Ans.(a) All Tall
(b)3:1 (Tall plants : dwarf plants )
(c)Dwarf plants
Reason :In F1 generation tall is dominant trait whereas in F2 generation two copies of tt/recessive traits made the
plant dwarf .
Check -In an experiment with pea plants, a pure tall plant (TT) is crossed with a pure short plant (tt). The ratio of
pure tall plant to pure short plants in F₂ generation will be [2023]
(a) 1:3 (b) 3:1 (c) 1:1 (d) 2:1
Ans. (c) 1:1
12. A blue colour flower plant denoted by BB is crossbred with that of white colour flower plant denoted by bb.
(a) State the colour of flower you would expect in their F₁ generation plants.
(b) What must be the percentage of white flower plants in F₂ generation if flowers of F₁ plants are self-pollinated?
(c) State the expected ratio of the genotypes BB and Bb in the F2 progeny. [2012, 2013, 2015]
Ans.(a)F1 generation –Blue
(b)25%
(c)BB:Bb =1:2
Check -A cross between pea plant with white flowers (vv) and pea plant with violet flowers (VV) resulted in F2
progeny in which ratio of violet (VV) and white (vv) flowers will be: [2023]
(a) 1:1 (b) 2:1 (c) 3:1 (d) 1:3
Ans. (a) 1:1
13. A cross was made between pure breeding pea plants, one with round and green seeds and the other with
wrinkled and yellow seeds.
(a) Write the phenotype of F1, progeny. Give reason for your answer.
(b) Write the different types of F₂ progeny obtained along with their ratio when F1, progeny was selfed. [2014]
Ans. (a) The cross was made between round, green seeds and wrinkled, yellow seeds. In the given cross, two traits
were taken into account, thus it is a dihybrid cross.Yellow colour and round shape is dominant over green colour
and wrinkled shape.

The above cross shows round and yellow seeds in the F1 generation. It occurs because dominant traits (round and
yellow) expresses itself in the heterozygous condition whereas recessive traits (wrinkled and green) get suppressed.

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(b) On selfing of F1 generation:

Round yellow: Round green : Wrinkled yellow : Wrinkled green

9 : 3 : 3 : 1
14. A green stemmed rose plant denoted by GG and a brown stemmed rose plant denoted by gg are allowed to
undergo a cross with each other.
(a) List your observations regarding
(i) Colour of stem in their F1 progeny.
(ii) Percentage of brown stemmed plants in F2 progeny if F1, plants are self pollinated.
(iii) Ratio of GG and Gg in the F2 progeny.
(b) Based on the findings of this cross, what conclusion can be drawn? [2020]
Ans. (a) (i) Green
(ii) 25 %
(iii) GG : Gg
1:2
(b) The traits which are expressed in F1 progeny are called dominant traits, whereas the traits which are unable to
express themselves in F1 progeny but reappear in the F2 progeny are called recessive traits
Check -Assertion (A): In humans, if gene (B) is responsible for black eyes and gene (b) is responsible for brown eyes,
then the colour of eyes of the progeny having gene combination Bb, bb or BB will be black only.
Reason (R): The black colour of the eyes is a dominant trait. [2023]
(a) Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true and Reason (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
(b) Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true but Reason (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
(c) Assertion (A) is true, but Reason (R) is false.
(d) Assertion (A) is false, but Reason (R) is true
Ans. (c) Assertion (A) is true, but Reason (R) is false.
15. (a) Mendel in one of his experiments with pea plants crossed a variety having round seeds with one having
wrinkled seeds. Write his observations, giving reasons, of F1 and F₂ progeny.
(b) List any two contrasting characters other than roundness of pea plants that Mendel used in his experiments with
pea plants. [2014]
Ans. Mendel's observations on crossing round seeded pea plants with wrinkled seeded pea plants :
F1 Progeny :All plants obtained had round seeds.
Reason:Roundness is dominant over wrinkledness F2 Progeny.
Both round and wrinkled seeded plants were obtained in the ratio of 3:1
Reason :Reappearance of wrinkled seeds show that the wrinkledness is a recessive character which was present in
the plants of F1 progeny but was not expressed due to the presence of roundness character which is a dominant
character.
(b)Two contrasting characters :
(i) Tall and dwarf plants

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(ii) White and violet flowers
16. In one of his experiments with pea plants Mendel observed that when a pure tall pea plant is crossed with a pure
dwarf pea plant, in the first generation, F₁ only tall plants appear.
(a) What happens to the traits of the dwarf plants in this case?
(b) When the F1 generation plants were self-fertilised, he observed that in the plants of second generation F₂ both
tall plants and dwarf plants were present. Why it happened? Explain briefly. [2016]
Ans.(a) The dwarf traits of the plants is not expressed in the presence of the dominant tall trait.
(b) In the F2 generation, both the tall and dwarf traits are present in the ratio of 3:1. This showed that the traits for
tallness and dwarfness are present in the F1 generation, but the dwarfness, being the recessive trait does not express
itself in the presence of tallness, the dominant trait.
17. In a monohybrid cross between tall pea plants (TT) and short pea plants (tt) a scientist obtained only tall pea
plants (Tt) in the F, generation. However, on selfing the F, generation pea plants, he obtained both tall and short
plants in F₂ generation. On the basis of above observations with other angiosperms also, can the scientist arrive at a
law? If yes, explain the law. If not, give justification for your answer. [2016]
Ans. Yes, the scientist may arrive at the law of dominance according to which the trait that is expressed in the F1
generation is the dominant trait, although both the dominant and recessive traits are present in the F1 generation. In
the F2 generation the recessive traits is also expressed along with the dominant traits.
18. How do Mendel's experiments show that the
(a) traits may be dominant or recessive,
(b) traits are inherited independently
Ans.(a) When Mendel cross pollinated pure tall pea plants with pure dwarf pea plants, only tall plants were obtained
in F1 generation. On self pollinating the F1 progeny, both tall and dwarf plants appeared in F2 generation in the ratio
3:1 Appearance of tall character in both the F1 and F2 shows that it is a dominant character. The absence of dwarf
character in F1 generation and its reappearance in F2 shows dwarfness is the recessive character.
(b) When Mendel conducted a dihybrid cross having two sets of characters, he obtained only one set of parental
characters in F1 generation whereas in F2 generation he obtained both the set of parental characters now recombined
in the ratio of 9:3:3:1. The appearance of new recombinants in the F2 generation along with parental type shows that
traits are inherited independently.
19.‘‘It is possible that a trait is inherited but may not be expressed.’’ Give a suitable example to justify this
statement.
Ans. Yes, it is possible. Example – When pure tall pea plants are crossed with pure dwarf pea plants, only tall pea
plants are obtained in F1 generation. On selfing tall plants of F1, both tall and dwarf plants are obtained in F2
generation in the ratio 3:1. Reappearance of the dwarf character, a recessive trait in F2 generation shows that the
dwarf trait/ character was present in individuals of F1 but it did not express (due to the present of tallness, a
dominant trait / character)
Factors Responsible for Sex Determination and blood groups
20. How many pairs of chromosomes are present in human beings? Out of these how many are sex chromosomes?
How many types of sex chromosomes are found in human beings? "The sex of a newborn child is a matter of chance
and none of the parents may be considered responsible for it". [2015]
OR

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With the help of a flow diagram, how would you establish that in human beings the sex of a newborn is purely a
matter of chance and none of the parents may be considered responsible for a particular sex of a newborn child.
[2019]
Ans.23 pairs of chromosomes
One pair, two types

Justification: Women produce only one type of ovum / (carrying X chromosome) and males produce two types of
sperms (carrying either X or Y chromosome) in equal proportions. So, the sex of a child is a matter of chance
depending upon the type of sperm fertilizing the ovum.
Check -Which pair of sex chromosomes will determine a male? [2023]
(a) XO (b) XX (c) XY (d) XY
Ans. XY
Case Study Based Questions
The most obvious outcome of the reproductive process is the generation of individuals of similar design, but in
sexual reproduction they may not be exactly alike. The resemblances as well as differences are marked. The rules of
heredity determine the process by which traits and characteristics are reliably inherited. Many experiments have
been done to study the rules of inheritance.
(i) Why an offspring of human being is not a true copy of his parents in sexual reproduction?
(ii) While performing experiments on inheritance in plants, what is the difference between F1, and F2 generation?
(iii) Why do we say that variations are useful for the survival of a species over time?
OR
(iii) Study Mendel's cross between two plants with a pair of contrasting characters.
RRYY x rryy
Round Yellow Wrinkled Green
He observed 4 types of combinations in F₂ generation. Which of these were new combinations? Why do new
features which are not present in the parents, appear in F₂ generation?
Ans. (i) Sexual reproduction involves the fusion of male and female gametes, which combines to the characters of
both parents and cause variation.
(ii)
F1 generation F2 generation
In F1 generation only the dominant traits are In F2 generation both dominant and recessive traits are
expressed. expressed.

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 It refers to the offspring/ plants resulting immediately It refers to the offspring/plants resulting from a cross
from a cross between the first set of parents. among the plants of F1 generation.

(iii)Because if a niche of population of organisms is altered, the whole population could be wiped out. However, if
variations are present in this population they have some chance of survival.
Or
(iii) Wrinkled, yellow Round, green
If two or more traits are involved, their genes are independently inherited irrespective of the combination present in
parents.
35. All human chromosomes are not paired. Most human chromosomes have a maternal and a paternal copy, and we
have 22 such pairs. But one pair called the sex chromosomes, is odd in not always being a perfect pair. Women have
a perfect pair of sex chromosomes. But men have a mismatched pair in which one is normal sized while the other is a
short one.
(a) In humans, how many chromosomes are present in a Zygote and in each gamete?
(b) A few reptiles rely entirely on environmental cues for sex determination. Comment.
(c) "The sex of a child is a matter of chance and none of the parents are considered to be responsible for it." Justify it
through flow chart only.
Or
(c) Why do all the gametes formed in human females hasxve an X chromosome?
Ans.(a) Zygote – 23 pairs / 46 chromosomes. Gamete – 23 chromosomes.
(b) The temperature at which fertilised eggs are kept determines whether the animals developing in the eggs are
male or female.
(c)

or
(c) The 23rd pair or the sex chromosome in human females contains ‘XX’ chromosome. At the time of gamete
formation, each gamete gets one X-chromosome.

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