[Campbell Biology P.545] How does genetic drift primarily differ from natural selection in i... | Practice Question
How does genetic drift primarily differ from natural selection in its effect on allele frequencies?
A: Genetic drift causes predictable changes in allele frequencies, while natural selection causes random changes.
B: Genetic drift's effects on allele frequencies are random and unpredictable, whereas natural selection's effects are consistent and favor specific alleles.
C: Genetic drift only affects harmful alleles, while natural selection only affects beneficial alleles.
D: Genetic drift always increases genetic diversity, while natural selection always decreases it.
Explanation
Point 2 under 'Effects of Genetic Drift: A Summary' explicitly states that genetic drift causes allele frequencies to change at random and is unpredictable, unlike natural selection which consistently favors some alleles over others.