(a) What do you understand by the term ‘variation’?
(b) Name two human traits which show variation.
(a) The differences in the characters among the individual of a species is called variation.
(b) Human height and free ear lobe are the traits which show variation in humans.
Due to the creation of variations, a species can adjust to the changing environment around it. And this promotes the survival of the species in the changing environment.
Example: The accumulation of ‘heat resistant’ variation (or trait) in some bacteria will ensure its survival even when the temperature in its environment rises too much due to a heat wave or some other reasons. On the other hand, the bacteria which did not have this variation to withstand heat would not survive under these circumstances and die.