Evolution
What Evolution means in Combined Science GCSE, as defined for AQA.
Definitions of Evolution
Exam boards and our study guides word this term in slightly different ways. Learn the version your board uses.
Check what you remember
Read the wording for your board, then hide it and explain Evolution in your own words. Rough notes are fine. This is a self-check, with no mark or grade.
Reference: AQA
A change in the inherited characteristics of a population over generations, not a change in an individual during its lifetime.
A change in the inherited characteristics of a population over time through a process of natural selection.
The change in inherited characteristics of a population over many generations, driven by natural selection.
Topics that use Evolution
- Evidence for evolution (AQA GCSE)
- Evolution (AQA GCSE)
Related terms
- Antibiotic resistance
- Common ancestry
- Formation of new species
- Fossils
- Mutation
- Mutation and genetic variation
- Natural selection
- Speciation and reproductive isolation
Using Evolution in the exam
Check the command word and mark scheme for your exact question. After comparing your explanation with the reference, use the term in an answer on the linked topic. This practice does not predict an exam mark.
Practise Combined Science questions
Create a free account to answer exam-style questions on this topic and get feedback on your answers.
A week of Premium from your first lesson · Then the free plan continues · No card, no charge