AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -They lead to new versions of proteins that help organisms adapt to changes in their environment. Beneficial mutations are essential for evolution to occur. They increase an organism’s changes of surviving or reproducing, so they are likely to become more common over time.

Detailed explanation-2: -A mutation is a naturally occurring variation in the gene sequence. An example could include darker colored mice being born to lighter colored mice. An adaptation is a way an organism changes as it responds to changes in its environment.

Detailed explanation-3: -Mutation is important as the first step of evolution because it creates a new DNA sequence for a particular gene, creating a new allele. Recombination also can create a new DNA sequence (a new allele) for a specific gene through intragenic recombination.

Detailed explanation-4: -Answer and Explanation: The correct answer to this question is B. They always cause a change to an organism’s genotype. Regardless of the cause of the change, a DNA sequence is always altered when it mutates.

Detailed explanation-5: -Abstract. Mutational input is the ultimate source of genetic variation, but mutations are not thought to affect the direction of adaptive evolution.