High School

State the principle that the frequency of alleles in a population will not change from generation to generation if certain assumptions are met.

Answer :

Final answer:

Hardy-Weinberg theorem, which states that in a population at equilibrium where no evolutionary forces are acting, allele and genotype frequencies will remain stable across generations.

Explanation:

The principle is the Hardy-Weinberg theorem, a key concept in population genetics that describes a condition where the frequencies of alleles and genotypes in a population remain constant from generation to generation, provided specific assumptions are met.

This theorem is applicable when the population is in equilibrium, meaning that evolutionary forces such as mutation, genetic drift, non-random mating, and gene flow (migration) are absent, and the population is sufficiently large to prevent sampling errors.

Furthermore, the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium assumes no natural selection is acting upon the alleles, essentially no difference in the reproductive success of individuals.