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Genetics

GENETICS
Genetics is the scientific study of heredity and variations between organisms while inheritance
describes how the similarities are transferred from the parent to the offspring. The similarities are
in form of characteristics such as skin colour, intelligence, height and many others.
Mendel was the first scientist to study genetics and inheritance.
Categories of variation There
are two types of genetic variations.
1. Continuous variations.
These are variations that show a gradual change in individuals without a clear-cut division between
the two extremes. It results into formation of intermediates. Such variations include height,
intelligence, skin colour, yield in plants, etc. In such variations, organisms are usually very many
around the mean/average point.
Graphic illustration of continuous variation

No. of
organisms

Mean point

2. Discontinuous variation.
This is a variation, which shows a clear-cut difference between the two extremes without
intermediates. This results into expression of only two phenotypes. Examples of discontinuous
variations include, tongue rolling, blood groups, sex, etc.

Causes of variation
Some variations are inherited and are called inherited variations while others are occupied as a
result of the environment hence called environmental variations.
Examples of inherited variations are blood groups, eye colour, albinism, hair, etc.

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Examples of environmental variations are knowledge, etc.
Environmental factors that cause variations
Diet Altitude
Pathogens Light
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 Genetics

Factors that cause inherited variations

Mutation
Crossing over
Fertilization
Terms used in genetics.
1. Chromosome. These are thread-like structures bearing genes and located in the nucleus.
2. Chromatid. This is half of a chromosome split longitudinally.
3. Bivalent. This is a pair of homologous chromosomes.
4. Gene. This is a unit of the hereditable material found on the chromosome and responsible for
controlling a particular trait/character.
5. Allele. This is the alternative form of the same gene. most genes are made up of two alleles.
Alleles of the same gene are represented by the same letter but the dominant allele is
represented by a capital letter and the recessive allele by a small letter in the case of dominant-
recessive characters
6. Diploid. This is a description of a cell, which has a whole set of chromosomes.
7. Haploid. This refers to a cell with half the set of chromosomes.
8. Genotype. This refers to the genetic composition of an organism.
9. Phenotype. This is the physical appearance or the outward expression of an individual.
10. Dominant gene/dominant allele. This is a description of a gene /allele whose effect is seen in
the phenotype of the heterozygous individual. The effect of the dominant gene/allele is seen in
the phenotype even in the presence of another gene/allele.
11. Recessive. This is a description of a gene whose effect is not phenotypically expressed in the
heterozygous state. The effect of a recessive gene/allele is not seen in the presence of another
(dominant) gene/allele.
12. Homozygous. This refers to a gene with two identical alleles for example if T represents the
gene for height where tallness is dominant to shortness then the allele for tallness is T and that
for shortness is t. an individual with TT is said to be homozygous tall and tt is said to be
homozygous short.
13. Homozygous dominant. This is where both alleles of a gene determine a dominant character.
14. Homozygous recessive. This is where both alleles of a gene determine a recessive character.
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15. Heterozygous. This refers to a gene with two different alleles for example if T represents the
allele for tallness and t for shortness then Tt is the heterozygous state of this gene.

16. Hybrid. This is an offspring produced by parents of two different pure lines.
17. Incomplete dominance. This is a condition where neither of the genes is dominant over the
other.
18. Gametes. These are reproductive cells.
19. Fertilization. This is the fusion of the male and female gametes to form a zygote.
20. Monohybrid inheritance. This is a type of inheritance, which involves studying a single pair
of contrasting characteristics.
21. Dihybrid inheritance. This is a type of inheritance, which involves studying two pairs of
contrasting characteristics at ago
22. Test cross
This is a type of back cross which involves crossing an offspring having a dominant character
with its recessive parent in order to determine the test of that offspring.
23. Back cross
This is the mating of an offspring with one of its parents.

MENDEL’S EXPERIMENT
For his experiment he collected one of the varieties of garden peas (pisum sativum) with contrasting
features such as one variety was producing tall plants when stems are about 200cm and another
short plant with stems of 25cm. He crossed these plants for his experiments. He crossed pure tall
pea plants with pure short pea plants and all the off springs were tall (F1 generation)
Tallness was the dominant character and shortness the recessive character.
The dominant character is represented using a capital letter while the recessive character is
represented using a small letter.

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Offspring phenotype: All tall
Mendel then selfed the plants of the F1 generation and obtained an F2 generation with tall and
short plants in a ratio of 3:1

Parental phenotype Tall X Tall

Parental genotype
Tt Tt
Meiosis
T t T t
Gametes

Fertilization

Offspring TT Tt Tt tt
F1 genotype

Genotypic ratio; TT:Tt:tt = 1:2:1

Phenotypic ratio; 3 tall : 1 short
Mendel’s conclusions Mendel
suggested the following to explain his results.
1. Gametes like pollen grains and ovules of the garden peas carry characters determining factors
through which resemblance is past on from one generation to the next.
2. A character like height of the garden pea is controlled by a pair of genes. These separate during
formation of gametes and only one goes into each gamete. This means that only half of the
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usual number of genes is present in the gametes. However the normal number is restored at
fertilization by the fusion of the two gametes
3. He named a gene determining a dominant character as a dominant gene and one determining a
recessive character as a recessive gene. In his representation dominant genes were given capital
letters and recessive genes were given small letters.

Mendel’s laws of inheritance From

his observations, Mendel put up two laws of inheritance.
First law: The law of segregation.
This law states that the character of an organism is determined by a pair of alleles. Only one allele
of such a pair is carried in a gamete.
Second law: The law of independent assortment.
This states that each of the alleles in a pair may combine with another allele from another pair
randomly.

Conclusions from Mendel’s’ crosses.

1. A character can be transmitted from parent to offspring independent of other characters.
2. Genes occur as a pair of alleles.
3. Only one allele of the same gene is carried in a single gamete.

MONOHYBRID INHERITANCE
Inheritance is the passing over of characteristics of the parents to their off springs. Monohybrid
inheritance involves the study of how one character is inherited from the parents to the off
springs. Mendel carried out several experiments on peas to study monohybrid inheritance.
Mendel chose garden peas for his experiments because of the following reasons:
1. They grow very fast and produce results in a very short period of time.
2. They are relatively small and can be grown on a small plot for study purposes.
3. Some of their characters are controlled by single genes, which make it easy to study them.
4. They have characteristics, which show clear-cut differences without intermediates like tall and
short, green and yellow cotyledons, etc.
He therefore concluded that their reproduction can be manipulated by pollination.
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Questions:
What would be the offsprings for a cross between homozygous black and homozygous brown.
Take B for black and b for brown.
Let the gene for black fur be represented by B and that for brown b.
Note.
1. It is one gene controlling a character, which is fur colour. For this reason we use the same letter
2. Black colour is dominant that is why we use (B) and brown is recessive (b)
3. The term pure-breeding is used to mean homozygous for that particular gene.
Crosses. Parental phenotype Brown Black
X
Parental genotype
bb BB

Meiosis
b b B B
Gametes

Fertilization

Offspring
F1 genotype Bb Bb Bb Bb

Offspring genotype: all Bb (heterozygous) Offspring

phenotype: all black.
They are all black because black is dominant to brown and it shows up in the heterozygous state.
Consider selfing of F1 (crossing two offsprings of F1 above).

Parental phenotype Black Black Parental genotype Bb X Bb

Meiosis

Gametes B b B b

Fertilization

Offspring BB Bb Bb bb
F2 genotype
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F2 phenotypic ratio. 3 black : 1 brown

3:1
Example ii
Consider a gene for height in garden peas. Tallness is dominant over shortness.
Let the gene for tallness be T and that for shortness t. show the cross between pure-breeding tall
pea and a pure-breeding short pea.
Parental phenotype Tall Short
X
Parental genotype
TT tt

Meiosis

T T t t
Gametes

Fertilization

Offspring Tt Tt Tt Tt
F1 genotype

F1 phenotype. All offsprings are tall.

Selfing of F1 produces F2 with a phenotypic ratio of 3 tall to 1 brown. (3:1)

Monohybrid inheritance in human beings

1. Albinism
This is a condition in human beings where the individual fail to produce skin pigments called
melanin. Albinos have;
Light skin
White hair
Pink eyes
They are sensitive to bright light Albinism is caused by a recessive gene.
Example
Let A be the allele for normal skin colour
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Let a be the allele for no skin colour
Genotype Phenotype
AA Normal skin colour
Aa Carrier for albinism
Aa albino

QUESTIONS:
1. What would be the offsprings if an albino marries a normal person?

Albino Normal person

Parental phenotype
X Parental
genotype
aa AA

Meiosis

Gametes a a A A

Fertilization

Offspring Aa Aa Aa Aa
F1 genotype

All the offsprings will be carriers of albinism

2. What would be the offsprings when 2 individuals who are carriers of albinism get married?

Carrier Carrier
Parental phenotype

X
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Parental genotype
Aa Aa

Meiosis

Gametes A a A a

Fertilization

OffspringF1 genotype AA Aa Aa aa

Genotypic ratio; 1 normal : 2 carrier: 1 albino

1:2:1
Phenotypic ratio; 3:1

BACK CROSS OR TEST CROSS

A test cross is used to distinguish between homozygous and heterozygous dominant forms. This
is when an F1 individual with the phenotype of the dominant parent is crossed with the recessive
parent to determine the phenotype of the parent.
If the F1 is homozygous dominant, all the offsprings will show the dominant character. If
the F1 individuals are heterozygous, a 1:1 ratio of dominant or recessive characters is
obtained. E.g.
let T represent the allele for tallness let
t represent the allele for shortness
Tall short
X
Tt tt

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 Meiosis
Gametes
T t t t
Fertilization

Offspring Tt tt Tt
tt
F2 genotype

Two offsprings will be heterozygous tall and 2 will be homozygous short.

X
TT tt

Meiosis

T T t t
Gametes

Fertilization

Offspring Tt Tt Tt Tt
F1 genotype Heterozygous
tall
QUESTION:
The fruit fly (drosophila melangaster) usually has wings twice as long as its abdomen but some
drosophila have very short or vestigial wings. A long winged drosophila (male) was crossed with
a vestigial winged female drosophila and all the F1 offsprings were long winged. The long
winged F1 generation were then mated.
i) How can the cross be represented diagrammatically ii) State the phenotypes of the
offsprings in the F2 generation and state their genotypic ratio. iii) What is the percentage of
the vestigial winged drosophila flies in the the F2 generation. iv) A drosophila is normally
used in experiments on heredity, why do you think it is suitable for such experiments.
Solution:
Let the gene for long wing be L and that of vestigous wing l
The long winged female can be LL or Ll because long winged is dominant to short winged.
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Vestigial winged Long winged male

female
X
ll LL

l l L L

Ll Ll Ll Ll
i) Parental phenotype
Parental genotype

Meiosis

Gametes

Fertilization

Offspring
F1 genotype

F1 phenotype. All long winged.

ii) Long winged
Long winged
Parental phenotype

X
Parental genotype
Ll Ll
Meiosis

Gametes L l L l

Fertilization

Offspring LL Ll Ll ll
genotype

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One of the offsprings will be homozygous long winged
Two of them will be heterozygous long winged
One of them will be homozygous short winged or vestigial winged
Genotypic ratio 1:2:1 iii) ¼ x100=25%
iv) It’s because they have contrasting characters and have short life span and show clear cut
differences.

In cattle, the gene for hornless condition is dominant over one for horns. A hornless cow was mated
with a horned bull. Using genetic symbols, show the possible phenotype and genotype of the F1
offspring.

Let h represent the allele for horned bull.

Let H represent the allele for hornless bull

Horned Hornless
Parental phenotype
X
Parental genotype
hh HH

Meiosis
h h H H
Gametes

Fertilization
Hh Hh Hh Hh

Offspring
F1 genotype

All were horned cows.

A bull whose horns were removed was mated to a horned cow. Show the possible genotypes and
phenotypes of the F1 offsprings. Give a reason for your answer.
Let h represent the allele for horned bull.
Let H represent the allele for hornless bull
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Horned Removed horns

Parental phenotype
X
Parental genotype
hh hh

Meiosis
h h h h
Gametes

Fertilization
hh hh hh hh
Offspring
F1 genotype

All are horned

Because the bull with cut off horns still has the genes for horned and cutting off the horns doesn’t
change the genes.

SEX DETERMINATION IN HUMAN BEINGS

There are 23 pairs of chromosomes in each cell of the human body. One pair determines the sex
of the individual and they are called sex chromosomes.
In the human female, sex chromosomes are homologous (XX) so females produce one type of
gamete which is X.
In the human male, sex chromosomes are not homologous and they are heterozygous (XY).
However, the Y chromosomes do not carry any genes, they are empty hence it is the X or Y
chromosome produced by man that determines the sex of the offsprings. When the ovum is
fertilized by an X sperm, a female baby XX is born.
When it is fertilized by a Y sperm, a male baby is born.
Hence it is the male which determines the sex of a human baby.
The Y sperms are more active and persistent than the X sperms. This increases the chances of an
ovum to be fertilized by a Y sperm. So to every 100 girls, 120 boys are born but XY baby boys
are not so tough as the XX baby girls due to this; more boys than girls die at the time of birth.
QUESTION;

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What would be the offsprings when a male mates with the female.
State the genotypic ratio of the offspring.

Female Male
v) Parental phenotype
X
Parental genotype
XX XY

Meiosis

Gametes X X X Y

Fertilization

Offspring XX XX XY XY

Genotypic ratio 1:1

SEX LINKED TRAITS/CHARACTERS

These are traits or genes associated with the sex of the individual. These characters are carried on
the sex chromosomes and are controlled or determined by the genes on those chromosomes.
Such characters appear in a recessive form hence are very common in males than in females.
Such characters include;
Colour blindness
Haemophilia (bleeder disease)
Sickle cell anaemia
Baldness Etc.

Inheritance of colour blindness

Colour blindness is a defect of the eyes caused by a recessive gene on the X chromosome.
Example
Let B be the allele for normal colour vision
Let b be the allele for colour blindness
Genotype Phenotype
XBXB Normal female
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XBXb Carrier female

XbXb Colour blind female
XBY Normal male
XbY Colour blind male

QUESTION:
1. i) what would be the offsprings when a carrier female for colour blindness marries a male with
normal colour vision.
ii) write the genotypic ratio of the offsprings and make a comment of their condition.
Solution:
let B represent the allele for normal colour vision let
b represent the allele for colour blindness.

Mother Father
X
B b
X X XBY

Meiosis
Gametes XB Xb XB Y

Fertilization

Offspring genotype XBXB XBXb XBY XbY

Genotypic ratio 2:1:1

2 will be normal girl (female)
1 will be normal boy (male)
1 will be carrier girl (female)
1 will be colour blind boy (male)
2. What would be the offspring if a colour blind woman marries a normal man.
Solution:

Inheritance of haemophilia (bleeder disease)

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It is a disease in which blood takes a long time to clot at a wound. It is also known as the
bleeder’s disease. This disease is caused by a recessive gene which is carried on the X
chromosome.
Let H be the allele for normal blood clotting
Let b be the allele for haemophilia
Genotype Phenotype
XHXH Normal female
XHXh Carrier female
XhXh Haemophiliac female
XHY Normal male
XhY Haemophiliac male
QUESTION:
What would be the offsprings if a normal woman marries a haemophiliac man?
let H represent the allele for normal blood clotting let
h represent the allele for haemophilia

Mother Father
X
H H
X X XhY

Meiosis
Gametes XH XH Xh Y

Fertilization

Offspring genotype XHXh XHXh XHY XHY

2 carrier females: 2 normal males

Sex limited traits
These are characteristics that only show in one sex e.g. secondary sexual characteristics, hairy
pinna, etc.
Sickle cell anaemia
It is due to a mutation of a gene. A person suffering from sickle cell anaemia has a defective type
of haemoglobin. It is caused by a recessive gene.
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When the concentration of oxygen is low in blood, the red blood cells assume the shape of a sickle.
Because of this, the red blood cells cannot absorb oxygen properly.
This is a hereditary disease and can be passed on to the children by the parents in their gametes.
Sickle cell anaemia has a fatal effect on people who are homozygous for this mutated gene.
People who are heterozygous i.e. they have mutated and non-mutated genes have normal red
blood cells.

Example:
Let B represent the allele for normal RBC
Let b represent the allele for sickle shaped RBC
Genotype Phenotype
BB Normal RBC
Bb Normal but carrier
Bb Sickle shaped RBC

QUESTION:
1. A normal male married a carrier female for sickle cell anaemia. Determine the phenotype
and genotype of the children.

let B represent the allele for normal RBC let

b represent the allele for sickle cell

Parental phenotype Normal Normal

X
Parental genotype

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 BB Bb
Meiosis

Gametes B B B b

Fertilization

Offspring BB BB Bb Bb
F2 genotype

NormalCarrier
Phenotype: Normal Normal Normal
Carrier

A normal male whose mother had sickle cell anaemia married a carrier female. What
percentage of their children had sickle cell anaemia?

EXCEPTIONS TO MENDELIAN INHERITANCE

The following do not conform to the process of inheritance as illustrated by Mendel.
1. Linkage
2. Incomplete dominance.
3. Co-dominance
4. Multiple alleles.

CO-DOMINANCE
This is a condition where genes determining a particular character all show up such that the
phenotype of the offspring is a mixture of that of the parents. It mainly occurs in animals. It is
where in the heterozygous state neither allele is completely dominant over the other i.e. the 2 alleles
are co-dominant. This results in the phenotype intermediate between the parent’s appearance.

Question:
In animals, what will be the offsprings when a red bull is crossed with a white cow.
Let R be the allele for red bull
Let W be the allele for white cow

Parental phenotype
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Red bull White cow

X
Parental genotype RR
WW
Meiosis

Gametes R R W W

Fertilization

RW RW RW RW
Offspring
F1 genotype

F1 phenotype: all the offsprings will be roan.

what would be the offsprings in the 2nd generation
Parental phenotype Roan bull Roan cow
X
Parental genotype
RW RW
Meiosis

Gametes R W R W
Fertilization

Offspring RR RW RW WW F2 genotype

F2 phenotype. 1 red, 2 roan and 1 white.

INCOMPLETE DOMINANCE
This is a condition in the heterozygous where neither of the alleles is dominant over the other and
the phenotype of the offspring is an intermediate between that of the parents. It mainly occurs in
plants.
E.g. in plants, when a red flowered plant is crossed with a white flowered plant, the offspring
produced pink and white flowers in a ratio of 1:2:1 respectively.
Example 1.

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Consider petal colour in flowers.
Let the gene for red petal flowers be R.
let the gene for white flowers be W

Parental phenotype Red petals X White petals

Parental genotype RR
WW

Meiosis

R R W W
Gametes
Fertilization

Offspring RW RW RW RW F1 genotype

F1 phenotype: all pink petals.

Selfing F1. (Cross between offspring in F1)

Parental phenotype Pink petals X Pink petals

Parental genotype
RW RW
Meiosis

Gametes R W R W
Fertilization

Offspring RR RW RW WW
F2 genotype

F2 phenotype. 1 red, 2 pink and 1 white.

Phenotypic ratio; 1 red: 2 pink: 1 white. (1:2:1)

MULTIPLE ALLELES
This is where one character is determined by more than two alleles. This implies that a single gene
contains more than two alleles. An example is blood group inheritance. Inheritance of blood
groups
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The gene controlling blood groups is made up of three different alleles (multiple alleles). These
alleles are A, B and O. The inheritance of blood groups is also an example of co-dominance. There
are 4 blood groups that is group A, B, AB and O. the alleles for blood groups are represented as
IA, IB and IO. IO is recessive to IA and IB . IA and IB are co-dominant. An individual inherits two of
these alleles one from each parent. The table below shows the possible blood groups that can arise
from the different genotypes.
Genotype (alleles) Blood group (phenotype)
IAIO A
IAIA A
I BI O B
I BI B B
IAIB AB
IOIO O

Example:
Work out the possible blood groups of the offsprings produced if a man of blood group A marries
a woman of blood group AB
The man can have two possible genotypes, i.e. IAIO and IAIA. This is because allele IA is dominant
to allele IO.
Considering the case where the man is IAIA

Male with group Female with group

A AB
Parental phenotype
X
Parental genotype IAIA IAIB

Meiosis

Gametes IA lA IA IB

Fertilization

Offspring IAIA IAIA IAIB IAIB

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 genotype

Offspring phenotype. 2 blood group A and 2 blood group AB

Considering the case where the man is IAIO

Male with Female with
Parental phenotype group A group A B

X
Parental genotype IAIO IAIB

Meiosis

Gametes IA IO IA IB
Fertilization

Offspring IAIA IAIO IAIB I BI O genotype

Offspring phenotype. 2 have blood group A, 1 has blood group AB and 1 has blood group B

Application of genetics
1. The study of genetics encourages breeding of animals with good characteristics to improve
livestock.
2. It helps to eliminate or reduce harmful characteristics through the study of genetics.
3. Through genetic counseling and advice individuals may be advised on the possibility of their
off springs.
4. It helps in prediction of offspring from two mating individuals and solves problems like
fraternal uncertainty.

MUTATION
This is a sudden/spontaneous change in the structure and composition of a gene or chromosome.
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Types of mutation
1. Chromosome mutation: this is a sudden change in the structure of a chromosome. 2.
Gene mutation

Types of chromosome mutation

i) Deletion:
This is when a piece of chromosome is broken off and lost therefore the chromosome becomes
shorter than the original one.

A
B
C

ii) Inversion:
A piece of the chromosome breaks and joins on a different side of the same chromosome.

A
B
C

iii) Duplication:
A chromosome gains a piece from another chromosome of the same type and becomes longer.

A
B
C

iv) Translocation:
A piece of chromosome breaks and joins to another chromosome of different type.

A
B
C

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Gene mutation:
This is a sudden change in the structure of a gene.
Types of gene mutation
Deletion
Duplication
Substitution: (this is a condition where a part of a gene is replaced by another of a different type).

Causes of mutations.
Mutations are caused by substances generally referred to as mutagens. These include;
1. High temperatures.
2. Chemicals such as mustard gas, colchine and caffeine. 3. High-energy
particles such as alpha and beta particles.
4. High-energy radiations such as x-rays, gamma rays and ultra violet radiations.
Note; most mutations are disadvantageous and recessive. They are rare but persistent in the
population.

EVOLUTION

Evolution is the process by which more complex forms of organisms arise from simpler forms over
a long period of time. Or
This is a gradual process by which organisms change from simple to complex forms over a period
of time.
As the environment changes, organisms also undergo changes to suit themselves to the changing
environment. This results into evolution within the organisms.

ORIGIN OF LIFE
The origin of life is not exactly known. However some theories have been put forward to explain
the origin of life. These are:
1. Special creation theory:
All living things were created by God.
2. Steady state theory:
It suggests that life has no origin and it has been in existence.
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3. Spontaneous generation theory:

It suggests that life arose from non-living matter.
4. Cosmozoan theory:
It suggests that life arose from another planet of the universe and arrived on earth by some
means.
5. Biochemical evolution theory:
It suggests that inorganic molecules i.e. DNA and chromosomes and other protein molecules were
organized into a basic unit of life called a cell.
It is the most accepted theory of the origin of life. The simple life (cell) gradually underwent
numerous changes along different lines to form the present diversity of complex organisms.

This confirms that all the present organisms despite of their differences arose from the same
ancestors, a process called evolution.

THEORIES OF EVOLUTION
These explain the mechanism of how evolution has taken place over a period of time. There are
two theories put forward to explain how evolution takes place.
1. Lamarck’s theory ( Lamarckism)
2. Darwin’s theory (Darwinism)

LAMARCKIAN EVOLUTION
This was put forward by a biologist called Lamarck.
It was based on the following principles;
Influence of environmental factors.
Use and disuse of parts of the body.
Inheritance of acquired characters.
Lamarck suggested that evolution was as a result of changes that organisms acquired during their
lifetime. These changes were then passed on to their offspring. It was believed that ancestors of
present day giraffes had short necks but as food became scarce, they stretched their necks in order
to get foliage leaves at the top of short trees. This caused their necks to elongate. This character
was passed on to their offspring. Lamarck put up the law of use and disuse. He suggested that the

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disuse of any character would result in its disappearance and the use of any character would lead
to its development.
N.B: however, Lamarck’s theory was proved to be wrong by genetic evidence that acquired
characters cannot be inherited.

DARWIN’S THEORY OF EVOLUTION

Charles Darwin is another biologist who proposed a theory to explain how evolution takes place.
Darwin suggested that evolution occurs by natural selection.

NATURAL SELECTION
This is the process by which organisms that are better adapted to the environment survive to
reproduce while those less adapted fail to do so and become extinct. Or
This is a process by which nature selects for the best adapted organisms and selects against the
less adapted ones.
When the environment changes, it affects organisms and those, which possess characters that
enable them to survive in the changing environment survive while those less adapted, die over a
long period of time. This occurs because organisms possess variations (differences between them).
The survival of the best adapted and removal of the less adapted is known as survival for the fittest.
Through his studies, Darwin made the following observations.
1. Organisms produce very many offsprings.
2. The population of organisms generally remains constant despite of the large number of
offsprings produced. This is due to competition between the members of the species for
environmental resources such as food, space, shelter, and mates.
3. Offsprings tend to resemble their parents in some characters. This is due to inheritance of
characters or genes from parents.
4. There is variation among organisms of the same population. This is due to both genetic and
environmental factors.
From the above observations, Darwin suggested that there must be a struggle for existence where
by the fit individuals (better adapted) survive and the unfit ones die (survival for the fittest). Over
a very long period of time these organisms can change into a different species.

EVIDENCE OF EVOLUTION
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There are several evidences put forward to support the theory of evolution. These include;
Comparative anatomy
Comparative embryology
Paleontology
Taxonomy
Comparative biochemistry
Geographical distribution of organisms

1. Paleontology
This is the study of fossils. Fossils are remains of organisms that lived in the past and were
preserved in rocks. Fossil studies show that organisms that lived in the past had some resemblance
to the present day organisms. This shows that they had a common ancestry. The differences
between them shows that evolution has occurred in the present day organisms.

2. Comparative embryology.
The study of the development of the zygote shows that organisms had a common ancestor. In all
vertebrates for example the zygote develops a tail in the early stages and it is surrounded by
membranes (amnion and allantois).

3. Cell biology.
The study of cells shows similarities between organisms. For example all cells of multicellular
organisms have a nucleus, mitochondria and other organelles. This shows that the organisms had
a common ancestry. The differences e.g. chloroplasts in plant cells shows that evolution took place
4. Comparative anatomy.
When anatomical structures of organisms are studied, they show similarities and differences.
Similarities indicate that the organisms had a common ancestor while the differences show that
they have evolved. For example all vertebrates have a pentadactyl limb but the limb has been
modified in the different vertebrates and it performs different functions.
Homologous structures

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These are structures from the common ancestral origin that serve different functions e.g the
pentadactyl limb composed of five digits like in the horse for running, monkeys for grasping,
human beings for handling and bats for flying.
This type of evolution is called divergent evolution which is the type of evolution where by
organisms with common ancestors have developed structures that perform different functions
because of change in the environment they live in.
When structures are further compared, it is observed that some of them differ but serve the same
functions. Such structures are known as analogous structures.
Thus analogous structures are structures from different ancestral origin but serve the same
functions. Such evolution is called convergent evolution which is a type of evolution where by
different organs with different ancestral origins perform the same function. This is because of the
similar environments they live in e.g. wings of birds and wings of insects.
5. Adaptive radiation:
When two populations of the same species are separated geographically. The organisms adapt
themselves to the environment in which they live. This causes them to differ in some way thus
evolution. 6. Classification.
The classification of organisms is based on resemblance in organisms. This indicates that
organisms in a given group have a common ancestor.
7. Comparative biochemistry.
The study of chemical composition and functioning between living organisms shows that they have
a common ancestor for example all organisms have DNA, they have enzymes made out of protein,
etc.
8. Geographical distribution:
Distribution of plants and animals in different parts of the world indicates evolution. i.e. different
environment look different. However some organisms in different geographical location are
similar meaning that they had a common ancestor.