Question

According to the Hardy-Weinberg theorem, the frequencies of alleles in a population will remain constant if _____ is the only process that affects the gene pool.

a. sexual selection
b. sexual reproduction
c. genetic drift
d. mutation immigration

Answer 1

b. sexual reproduction

Step-by-step explanation:

According to the Hardy-Weinberg theorem, allele and genotype frequencies of a population remain constant over generations when all the evolutionary forces are absent. To maintain Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the population should be large enough to prevent the change in allele frequencies by genetic drift and should exhibit random mating.

Random mating occurs when the individuals of a population do not have any mate preference for sexual reproduction. Therefore, a large population maintains the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium when forces such as mutations, sexual selection, migration, etc. are not operative on the population and random mating sexual reproduction occurs.