Which concept describes the change in allele frequencies in a population over generations?

• A. Evolution
• B. Energy
• C. Entropy
• D. Extremeophile

Answer: (A)

Evolution is the change in allele frequencies in a population over generations. It explains how the genetic makeup of a group shifts as some alleles become more common because they improve survival or reproduction, while others become rarer. This happens through mechanisms like natural selection, genetic drift, mutation, migration, and non-random mating. For example, if a heat-tolerant allele helps individuals survive warmer ocean conditions, those individuals leave more offspring and the allele’s frequency increases in the next generation. In an ideal population with no evolutionary forces (Hardy-Weinberg conditions), allele frequencies would stay the same, so any change over time indicates evolution. The other terms don’t describe a process acting on genetic frequencies: energy is about work, entropy about disorder in thermodynamics, and an extremeophile is an organism adapted to extreme conditions, not the change in allele frequencies themselves.