WAEC 2024 Biology · Question 31

Which of the scientists were involved in the study of evolution? Scientist Famous work I. Charles Darwin →…

Question

Which of the scientists were involved in the study of evolution? Scientist Famous work I. Charles Darwin → Preservation of some food with heat II. Gregor Mendel → Natural selection III. Jean Baptiste Lamarck → Inheritance of acquired characteristics IV. Louis Pasteur → Independent assortment of genes.

A.I and III
B.II and III
C.I, II and IV
D.II. III and IV

Answer: A. I and III

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

The question as printed has the "famous work" entries mismatched with the scientists, so let's sort that out first.

Step 1: Analyze the question We need the scientists involved in the study of evolution. The question lists each scientist with a "famous work", but several of these pairings are scrambled.

Step 2: Check each scientist and the work listed

I. Charles Darwin → "Preservation of some food with heat." Darwin is the father of evolution by natural selection. Preserving food with heat (pasteurization) belongs to Louis Pasteur. Darwin is an evolution scientist, but the work listed beside his name is wrong.
II. Gregor Mendel → "Natural selection." Mendel worked on heredity (pea plant experiments), not natural selection. Natural selection is Darwin's work. Mendel is a genetics scientist, not an evolution scientist.
III. Jean Baptiste Lamarck → "Inheritance of acquired characteristics." This pairing is correct. Lamarck proposed an early theory of evolution based on use and disuse and the inheritance of acquired traits.
IV. Louis Pasteur → "Independent assortment of genes." Independent assortment is Mendel's work. Pasteur worked on microbiology, pasteurization, and disproving spontaneous generation. He was not an evolution scientist.

Step 3: Pick the answer The scientists involved in the study of evolution are Darwin (I) and Lamarck (III). This matches option A. Mendel and Pasteur were not evolutionary theorists.

The listed works for Darwin, Mendel, and Pasteur are swapped around in the question, which is a quirk of the printed question. The question asks who was involved in evolution, so the answer is based on the scientists themselves: Darwin and Lamarck.

Answer: A. I and III

Exam tip: Remember the key links:

Darwin → natural selection (evolution)
Lamarck → acquired characteristics (evolution)
Mendel → genetics and heredity
Pasteur → microbiology and pasteurization

If a question asks about "evolution," think "Darwin and Lamarck."

AI can make mistakes. Report anything that looks wrong.