Hey, Future Biologists! 🤓 Ever wonder how scientists figure out if a population of organisms is evolving or not? Well, it's like playing a genetic game of "spot the difference," and our secret weapon is the Hardy–Weinberg equation! Let's break it down.

Equation: p² + 2pq + q² = 1

• p²: Frequency of homozygous dominant genotype (e.g., AA)
• q²: Frequency of homozygous recessive genotype (e.g., aa)
• 2pq: Frequency of heterozygous genotype (e.g., Aa)

Real-World Example 🌍:

Imagine we have a population of flowers. Some have red petals (AA), some have pink petals (Aa), and others have white petals (aa). We could use the Hardy–Weinberg equation to predict how common each of these flower colors should be if there's no evolution happening!

For a population to be in genetic equilibrium (i.e., not evolving), it needs to meet all these criteria

1️⃣ No Mutation 🚫🧬

• The genes are stable, no new versions (alleles) popping up.

2️⃣ Random Mating ❤️🐦🐦

• Organisms can't have a "type." Basically, if you're a blue bird, you shouldn't care if your partner is blue, green, or polka-dotted!

3️⃣ No Immigration or Emigration 🚫✈️

• Imagine you're in a room full of red gummy bears. Suddenly, a flood of blue gummy bears walks in. That's gonna mess with our "genetic flavor balance," right?

4️⃣ Large Population 🌍

• The more, the merrier! Small populations can have their allele frequencies changed just by chance, something called 'genetic drift.'

5️⃣ No Natural Selection 🚫🏆

• Nature doesn't have favorites here. No allele is better than the other; they're all rockstars!