AP Biology Questions on Mutations and Heredity

🧬 Quick Study Guide

• 🔍 A mutation is a change in the nucleotide sequence of DNA. These can be spontaneous or induced by mutagens.
• 💥 Mutations can be point mutations (affecting a single base pair) or chromosomal mutations (affecting large sections of chromosomes).
• 📝 Point mutations include substitutions, insertions, and deletions. Insertions and deletions can cause frameshift mutations.
• 🌱 Heredity is the passing of traits from parents to offspring. It's governed by the principles of Mendelian genetics.
• ⚖️ Mendel's laws include the Law of Segregation (alleles separate during gamete formation) and the Law of Independent Assortment (genes for different traits assort independently).
• 📊 A testcross can be used to determine the genotype of an individual expressing a dominant trait.
• 👪 Pedigrees are used to trace the inheritance of traits through families.
• 🧪 Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium: Describes the conditions under which allele and genotype frequencies in a population will remain constant from generation to generation. The equations are: $p + q = 1$ and $p^2 + 2pq + q^2 = 1$, where $p$ is the frequency of one allele, and $q$ is the frequency of the other allele.

🧠 Practice Quiz

1. Which of the following is NOT a type of point mutation?

   1. Substitution
   2. Deletion
   3. Inversion
   4. Insertion

2. A mutation that results in a change in the amino acid sequence is called a:

   1. Silent mutation
   2. Missense mutation
   3. Nonsense mutation
   4. Frameshift mutation

3. What is the term for a mutation that has no observable effect on the phenotype?

   1. Lethal mutation
   2. Silent mutation
   3. Conditional mutation
   4. Reversion mutation

4. Which of Mendel's laws states that alleles for different traits assort independently of each other during gamete formation?

   1. Law of Segregation
   2. Law of Dominance
   3. Law of Independent Assortment
   4. Law of Unit Characters

5. In a population, the frequency of the recessive allele for a certain trait is 0.4. According to the Hardy-Weinberg principle, what is the frequency of the homozygous recessive genotype?

   1. 0.16
   2. 0.4
   3. 0.6
   4. 0.84

6. What is the purpose of a testcross?

   1. To determine the genotype of an individual with a dominant phenotype
   2. To determine the genotype of an individual with a recessive phenotype
   3. To create new genetic combinations
   4. To induce mutations

7. Which of the following can cause a frameshift mutation?

   1. Substitution
   2. Deletion
   3. Silent Mutation
   4. Translocation