1. The accepted definition of life is “a self-sustained chemical system capable of undergoing Darwinian evolution”-NASA exobiology team
2.
Prokaryote: cell without nucleus
Eukaryotic: cell with a nucleus
Sexual reproduction: Two organisms produce one or more genetically unique organisms, Very rare, Pros: Children are genetically different from parent, Cons: Need two parents, Takes longer than asexual reproduction, children can have different traits from parents
Asexual reproduction: One organism produces an identical organism, Common, Pros: Faster than sexual reproduction, parents will good traits will have kids with good traits, Cons: Less genetical variation
Heterotrophic: Through cellular respiration, Energy made from combusting sugar,…show more content… In the garden of his monastery, he discovered the “basic principles of heredity through experiments”. Before Mendel conducted his studies most people thought traits of the offspring were just a mix of parents’ traits. Mendel used pea plants and cross-breeded them with pea plants with opposite traits, such as tall plants with short plants etc. He conducted his experiment over eight years (1856-1863), and came to two conclusions: the Law of Segregation which says that “there are dominant and recessive traits passed randomly from parents to offspring”, and the Law of Independent Assortment which states that “traits were passed on independently of other traits from parent to offspring”. These conclusions were important because it replaces the misconception that traits in offspring are just a mix of the parents’ traits, and shows that traits in offspring are different depending of the dominant and recessive traits of the parents. Mendel’s discoveries are also important in evolution because it shows that the parents with traits more suited to that area would transfer the same dominant traits to their offspring, so that organisms with that trait would live longer in that area. These are just some reasons why Gregor Mendel’s research was
