5/8/23

1.3 Looking more closely at variation

Learning objective:
Explain the difference between inherited and
acquired
Key words:
Inherited
Acquired
Within a species there is usually a great deal of
variation between individuals
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What variations can you see ?

There are variations in skin colour, hair colour,

hair curliness, eye colour and sex
Variations may be inherited or acquired

•Inherited variations result from the activity of genes

-For example, hair colour, skin colour*, blood group,
finger prints and sex cannot be changed naturally
Acquired characteristics result from an individual’s
activities or nutrition or from environmental
conditions during a lifetime
Examples of acquired conditions in humans are*
-language -obesity
-athletic skills -mental skills
-body building -sun tan
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North side, upper branches South side upper branches

North side, lower branches South side, lower branches

© Horticultural Research
International
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•What environmental conditions in the different parts of

the tree might have caused the differences in size of the
apples ?

-The upper branches will receive more sunlight than the

lower branches, but on the North side the sunlight would
have been less intense

-The lower branches will receive less sunlight because of

the shade cast by the upper branches. This effect will be
more pronounced on the North side
 5/8/23

1.3 Looking more closely at variation

Learning objective:
Explain the difference between continuous and
Discontinuous variation
Key words:
continuous
Discontinuous variation
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Discontinuous variation
•Discontinuous variations are entirely genetically controlled
They cannot be altered by external conditions.

•Your ABO blood group is either A, B, AB or O

•Genetic defects such as colour blindness, albinism,

achondroplastic dwarfism, sickle cell anaemia are all
Genetically controlled and expressed in a discontinuous way.

•You either have these conditions or you do not. There are no

intermediate states
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percentage
in population
of Britain

Discontinuous variation in blood group.

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Continuous variation
-Continuous variation is influenced by genes and environment,
resulting in a range of phenotypes between two extremes,
e.g. height in humans.

-For example, there is every shade of hair colour between black

and blond.

-Variations such as these are under genetic control but there are
several pairs of genes involved.

-The genome AA BB CC DD might give black hair while the

genome aa bb cc dd might give blond hair.*

-Genomes AaBbCcDd or AABbCCdd or aaBBccDd and all the

other possible combinations would give intermediate colours
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There are as
many categories
of hair colour as
there are children
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thousands
of men

height in inches
There seem to be distinct categories of height but this is because
measurements are made to the nearest inch
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If measurements could be made to the nearest millimetre

there would be a smooth transition in the heights
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This is how continuous variation would appear in a graph