Applied science, biology,unit 11 C

Biology variations

What the difference between continuous and discontinuous variation

the term continuous and discontinuous variation refers to how traits are passed down from parent
offspring.

continuous variation refers to a trait that exhibited a range of possible values e.g. fingerprints,
height, weight.

Discontinuous variation refers to a trait that have a limited number of possible values in other words
they do not display a range and they are either one thing or the other e.g. abo blood, tongue rolling,
etc

Ear lobe shape and eye colour are examples of discontinuous variation because they have distinct
identifiable categories or types e.g. attached or detached earlobes blue or green eyes; rather than
variation along the continuous spectrum

Height is a continuous variation because it varies along a spectrum rather than falling into distinct
category. this means that there is a range of possible height values within a population and that the
individual can fall anywhere within that range rather than only a certain predetermined category.



Height

Measurement Frequency
155-159 IIII

160-164 III

165-169 IIII I

170-174 II


Eye colour

colour Frequency
blue I

green II

brown IIII I

black IIII I

,Earlobes

colour frequency
fixed IIII IIII

free IIII I

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