Which statement about genetic variation and evolution is true?

• A. It provides material for natural selection to act upon
• B. It prevents species from changing
• C. It reduces adaptation
• D. It eliminates recessive alleles

Answer: (A)

Genetic variation is the differences in DNA that exist among individuals in a population, and it provides the material natural selection acts on. Mutations create new alleles, and sexual reproduction shuffles alleles into new combinations, giving a range of traits. When the environment favors certain traits, individuals with those traits survive and leave more offspring, increasing the frequency of the beneficial alleles over generations. That’s how evolution happens.

So, the true statement is that genetic variation provides material for natural selection to act upon. It’s not true that variation prevents change or reduces adaptation; in fact, it enables populations to adapt to changing conditions. Nor does it eliminate recessive alleles; those alleles can persist, hidden in carriers or become more common if advantageous or through other evolutionary forces.