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Fossils from soft bodied animals, such as jellyfish, are rare.

Unit 2 - Speciation

This GCSE Biology quiz on speciation explores how new species form over time when populations become isolated, face different selection pressures, and gradually accumulate genetic differences.

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Fascinating Fact:

Behavioural or reproductive isolation can also contribute, for example differences in mating calls, breeding seasons, or courtship behaviours.

In GCSE Biology, speciation explains how one ancestral species can gradually split into two or more new species. You study isolation, variation, and natural selection to understand how populations diverge genetically over many generations.

Key Terms

Speciation: The process by which new species form from an original population when groups become isolated and change independently.
Reproductive isolation: When populations cannot interbreed to produce fertile offspring, for example due to different mating behaviours or breeding seasons.
Natural selection: The process where individuals with advantageous characteristics are more likely to survive, reproduce, and pass on their alleles.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What is speciation in GCSE Biology?

In GCSE Biology, speciation is the formation of new species when populations become isolated, accumulate genetic differences over time, and can no longer interbreed to produce fertile offspring.

What causes new species to form over time?

New species form when isolation, such as geographical or reproductive isolation, stops gene flow between populations and natural selection and mutation cause their characteristics to change in different ways.

What is the difference between allopatric and sympatric speciation?

Allopatric speciation happens when populations are separated by a physical barrier, such as a river. Sympatric speciation happens without a physical barrier, often due to reproductive or behavioural isolation.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

A species is an interbreeding population capable of producing what?

Infertile offspring

Fertile offspring

No offspring

Mutants

Donkeys and horses are different species but can interbreed to produce a mule, but very few mules are fertile

2 .

Speciation is the formation of new...

varieties

forms

species

fossils

This happens through reproductive isolation and natural selection

3 .

Speciation can be studied using which of the following?

Fossils

Experiments

Observation

Recording data

The fossil record shows the adaptations over time which can lead to new species

4 .

What are fossils?

The remains of dead organisms from many years ago that are preserved in rocks

Plants found in coal and oil

Rocks and stones

Little creatures

DNA studies from human fossils have helped us to understand the relationships between the different anscestral species of modern humans

5 .

Species survive if they are...

well adapted

poorly adapted

not extinct

extinct

Well adapted means that they are suited to life in their environment

6 .

Which word describes species which have died off?

Redundant

Unemployed

Extinguished

Extinct

Badly adapted species will not breed successfully and so their genes will be removed from the gene pool by natural selection

7 .

Which of the following is not a cause of extinction?

Changes in the environment over geological time

New predators

Short term environmental changes

Disease

The environmental changes needed for extinction take place over many years

8 .

Fossils from soft bodied animals are...

common

rare

found everywhere

found in the sea

Soft bodied animals rarely leave a fossil behind as the body just decays. Bones, shells and plant parts are more easily preserved in rock and are more common

9 .

Which of the following is an example of geographical isolation?

A mountain separating two populations

The Sun

Fossilisation

Decay

An isolation mechanism is needed to separate the two populations so that they can evolve into two different species

10 .

Genetic variation provides the basis for new species. Variation means that individuals are...

the same

equal

different

adapted

Genetic variation is a random process. Changes that make an organism better adapted are more likely to be passed on to future generations by natural selection

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Evolution

Author: Donna Davidson (GCSE Biology Teacher & Examiner, Quiz Writer)