In what size populations might you expect it to be relatively common for alleles to become fixed? Why?
I think that larger populations would be more likely to have fixed alleles, since perfect Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium states that there will be no change in allele frequency if the population is infinitely large, but I'm not 100% sure.
I suspect the question is not about fixed frequencies, if so, you are almost right.
What I suspect the question means by "fixed" is homogenous allies, that occurs in relatively small ISOLATED populations, where inbreeding occurs, and the allele types become homozygous. And, it turns out, since all alleles are the same, the allele frequency is exactly 100 percent, with no change.
Now in small populations, which are not isolated, the allele frequency will not be stable at all.
So decide what the word "fixed" means here. You may be right, I would have asked " the allele frequency to become fixed" if I meant that to be the question. Check the wording, you might have missed a word in typing.
You are correct that larger populations are more likely to have fixed alleles. In smaller populations, genetic drift plays a larger role, which can lead to the fixation or loss of alleles by chance alone. Therefore, in populations with smaller sizes, alleles are more likely to become fixed or lost over time. On the other hand, larger populations are less influenced by genetic drift and have a larger gene pool, making it less likely for alleles to become fixed.
You're on the right track! The concept you're referring to is called genetic drift, which is the random change in allele frequencies in a population over generations. When population size is large, genetic drift has less impact because there is a greater chance for genetic diversity to be preserved.
In relatively small populations, on the other hand, genetic drift can have a greater effect. When a population is small, random events, like the death or reproduction of a few individuals, can cause a significant change in allele frequencies. This means that alleles can become fixed, meaning they are present in the entire population, more easily in smaller populations due to random chance.
Therefore, you can expect alleles to become fixed more commonly in smaller populations due to the increased influence of genetic drift. In contrast, larger populations are more likely to maintain genetic diversity and have less fixation of alleles.