Q4. According to Darwin, which individuals in a population outbreed the others?
Those whose characteristics enable them to survive better in natural conditions, such as climate, food and physical factors, outbreed the less-endowed ones (NCERT page 113).
Q5. What did Darwin conclude from the fact that many life forms of the past no longer exist?
That there have been extinctions of different life forms, just as new forms of life arose at different periods of the earth’s history: life forms have evolved gradually (NCERT page 112).
Q6. What does the close match between the geological and biological history of the earth suggest about its age?
That the earth is very old: not thousands of years, as was thought earlier, but billions of years (NCERT page 113).
Q7. Assertion: individuals with more offspring are fitter in Darwin’s sense. Reason: fitness, according to Darwin, refers ultimately and only to reproductive fitness. Are both true, and does the reason explain the assertion?
Both are true, and the reason explains the assertion (NCERT page 113).