The Hardy-Weinberg law is
A) useful in determining the extent to which a sexually reproducing population is evolving.
B) used to predict when genetic drift will occur in a sexually reproducing population.
C) useful in determining the extent to which polyploidy is occurring in specific plant populations.
D) used to predict when specific groups of organisms will become extinct.
E) useful in determining if a patient has a genetic disease.

Question

The Hardy-Weinberg law is
A) ​useful in determining the extent to which a sexually reproducing population is evolving.
B) ​used to predict when genetic drift will occur in a sexually reproducing population.
C) ​useful in determining the extent to which polyploidy is occurring in specific plant populations.
D) ​used to predict when specific groups of organisms will become extinct.
E) ​useful in determining if a patient has a genetic disease.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Hardy-Weinberg law is a principle used to test whether a population is evolving or not. It provides a baseline against which the amount of genetic change in a population can be measured. It compares the observed frequency of alleles and genotypes in a population with the expected frequency if the population is not evolving. If the observed and expected frequencies are the same, then the population is not evolving. Therefore, option A is the correct answer.

The Hardy-Weinberg Law Is