Question

A population of crocodiles is in hardy Weinberg equilibrium which condition must be true

a.No new mutations have occurred
b.Genetic drift is taking place
c.Natural selection is causing changes in allele frequencies
d.New individuals are migrating into the population

Answer 1

For a population to be in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, it must meet specific conditions, including no mutations, no gene flow, large population size, random mating, and no natural selection. The correct option is a.

Step-by-step explanation:

When discussing the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, we must consider certain conditions that must be met for a population of crocodiles to truly be at equilibrium. According to the Hardy-Weinberg principle, the conditions include:

• No mutation occurring in the DNA sequence.
• No migration, meaning new individuals must not migrate into the population.
• The population size has to be very large to discount genetic drift.
• Random mating must occur, meaning individuals pair by chance, not according to their genotypes.
• And importantly, there must be no natural selection; allele frequencies must not change due to survival or reproductive advantages.

To answer the student's question, for a population of crocodiles to be in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the first condition, 'No new mutations have occurred,' must be true. This means we expect no evolutionary changes due to genetic alterations. The correct option is a.