Question 1

The heritability coefficient is highest for which of the following human characteristics?

Accepted Answer

Height has the highest heritability coefficient among these options. This means that genetic factors have the greatest influence on an individual's height compared to environmental factors. Conscientiousness, intelligence, and impulsivity are all influenced by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, with no single characteristic having a consistently higher heritability coefficient across all studies.

Question 2

Recombinant DNA procedures have been used to produce human growth hormone that has been used to treat children who are abnormally short.The results of the research examining the impact for these children is that:

Accepted Answer

The answer of Recombinant DNA procedures have been used to...

Question 3

While genetic engineering gives humans potential control over heredity and evolutionary processes,there is a key question with respect to the use of genetic engineering?

Accepted Answer

The question explicitly states the moral/ethical dilemma surrounding genetic engineering, making choice B the most relevant. While the other choices are also important considerations, they are not directly addressed in the question.

Question 4

Siblings have a certain percentage of chance of sharing the same gene with one another.This percentage of chance is _____.

Accepted Answer

Siblings have a 50 percent chance of sharing the same gene with one another due to the basic principles of inheritance, where each parent contributes half of their genes to their offspring.

Question 5

Dizygotic twins share a certain percentage of their genetic endowment with their parents.This percentage of genetic endowment is ____________.

Accepted Answer

Dizygotic (fraternal) twins occur when two separate eggs are fertilized by two separate sperm. Therefore, they share approximately 50% of their genetic material with each other and 50% with their parents. This is the same amount of genetic sharing as any other full sibling.

Question 6

Of the list below,genetically speaking,which pair of individuals is most alike?

Accepted Answer

Two brothers who are identical twins have the most similar genetics because they are both from the same fertilized egg that split, resulting in two genetically identical individuals. Fraternal twins (options A, B, and D) are no more genetically similar than any other pair of siblings because they come from two separate eggs fertilized by two separate sperm.

Question 7

The gene knockout procedure refers to the process of:

Accepted Answer

The gene knockout procedure involves altering a specific gene in a way that prevents it from functioning properly or at all. This can be done through various techniques, such as using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology, to either delete or disable the gene. This allows researchers to study the effects of that gene by observing the changes in the organism without that gene's normal function.

Question 8

The procedure in which an individual gene is altered to prevent it from carrying out its normal function is called the:

Accepted Answer

The gene knockout procedure involves altering a specific gene so that it can no longer perform its normal function. This can be done using various techniques such as CRISPR/Cas9 or knockdown RNA interference. Recombinant procedures involve combining genetic material from different sources, while polygenic procedures involve the study of multiple genes and their interactions. The elimination procedure is not a commonly used term in genetics.

Question 9

An animal researcher inserts into the body of a mouse a genetic substance that is designed to prevent neurons from responding to dopamine.The researcher then observes the mouse to determine the impact of the absence of dopamine on the mouse's behaviour.This researcher has just utilized what is called the:

Accepted Answer

The researcher has used the knockout procedure, which involves the removal or deactivation of a specific gene or genes in an organism in order to study the effects of that gene's absence. In this case, the genetic substance was designed to prevent neurons from responding to dopamine, which effectively "knocked out" the dopamine response in the mouse.

Question 10

While the gene knockout procedure has been shown to result in changes in behaviour,interpretation of the findings of this procedure must be made carefully since:

Accepted Answer

While gene knockout may result in changes in behaviour, it is unlikely that only one gene controls a particular behaviour. Therefore, the interpretation of the findings must be made carefully.

Question 11

A grandchild has a certain percentage of chance of sharing any single gene with his or her grandparents.This percentage of chance is _____.

Accepted Answer

A grandchild shares 25 percent of his or her genes with each grandparent, and therefore has a 25 percent chance of inheriting any particular gene from any particular grandparent.

Question 12

Techniques in which pieces of DNA from an organism are combined with DNA from other organisms and then allowed to proliferate in a new host organism are called:

Accepted Answer

The process described involves the use of recombinant DNA procedures, in which genetic material is combined and then inserted into a host organism to replicate. The other options provided are either not specific enough or refer to different genetic processes.

Question 13

The heritability coefficient for intelligence is .50.This means that:

Accepted Answer

The heritability coefficient for intelligence (or any trait) being .50 suggests that 50 percent of the variation in intelligence within a group of people can be attributed to genetic factors. This coefficient does not directly address the variation between groups or the proportion of an individual's intelligence that is due to genetics.

Question 14

The heritability coefficient is used to estimate:

Accepted Answer

The heritability coefficient is used to estimate the extent to which variation in a group of people can be accounted for by genetic factors. It is not used to estimate the extent of environmental factors, nor is it used to predict the probability of sharing specific genes with parents or siblings.

Question 15

Studies comparing the similarity of identical and fraternal twins who are raised together and apart are especially informative because:

Accepted Answer

Studies comparing identical and fraternal twins who are raised together and apart can help us understand the relative importance of genetic and environmental factors in shaping behavior and traits. By comparing the similarities and differences between twins who share different levels of genetic relatedness and environmental upbringing, we can gain insights into the complex interplay between nature and nurture.

Question 16

Which of the following procedures have been used to produce human growth hormone?

Accepted Answer

Recombinant DNA technology has been used to produce human growth hormone by inserting the human growth hormone gene into the DNA of bacteria, which then produce the hormone. Gene knockout refers to the removal of a specific gene from an organism, which is not relevant to the production of human growth hormone. Polygenic transmission and inheritance transmission are natural processes of passing traits from parents to offspring, also not relevant to the production of human growth hormone through genetic engineering.

Question 17

The probability of a child sharing any particular gene with his or her parents is:

Accepted Answer

The probability of a child sharing any particular gene with his or her parents is 0.50 or 50%. This is because each child receives one copy of each gene from each parent, giving them a 50% chance of receiving the same gene from one of their parents.

Question 18

Which of the following is one of the methods used in recombinant DNA research?

Accepted Answer

Enzymes are commonly used in recombinant DNA research to cut DNA into smaller pieces, which can then be joined together with DNA from another organism to create recombinant DNA. This process allows for the creation of new genetic sequences with desirable traits, such as resistance to disease or enhanced productivity. The other options listed do not involve the manipulation of DNA and are not related to recombinant DNA research.

Question 19

The extent to which variation among a group of people can be attributed to genetic factors is estimated by the:

Accepted Answer

The heritability coefficient is a measure of the extent to which variation among individuals in a population can be attributed to genetic factors, and is estimated through quantitative genetic analysis. The other choices (A, B, and C) are not directly related to this concept.

Question 20

Adoption studies have found that people with schizophrenia are:

Accepted Answer

Adoption studies have consistently found that people with schizophrenia are more likely to have biological relatives with the disorder than adoptive relatives. This suggests a genetic component to the disorder.

Quiz 4: Genes, Evolution, and Behaviour