Problem
A. Review: List the five conditions that must occur for a population to maintain Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and thus show no evolution.
B. In biological terms, the word fitness refers to the reproductive success of an organism. If organism A lives for 2 years and produces 10 offspring, and organism B lives for 25 years and produces 5 offspring, then which organism has greater fitness? Explain your answer.
C. In the 1930s the allele that confers resistance to DDT, a powerful insecticide, was undetectable in the fruit fly population. By the 1960s the allele was found in 37 percent of fruit flies. Explain how this occurred and how the allele came to be in the first place.
D. In Boston there is a much greater percentage of individuals with red hair and freckles than in most of the rest of the United States. Explain how this may have occurred.