Mendelian Genetics & Punnett Squares Quiz

Gregor Mendel is often referred to as the father of genetics because of his groundbreaking work on pea plants in the 19th century. Through his experiments, Mendel discovered the basic principles of inheritance, including the concepts of dominant and recessive traits, as well as the laws of segregation and independent assortment. His work laid the foundation for modern genetics and revolutionized our understanding of how traits are passed from one generation to the next.

Blonde hair is an example of a phenotype. Phenotype refers to the observable physical characteristics of an organism, which are determined by both genetic and environmental factors. In the case of hair color, the specific genetic makeup (genotype) of an individual influences the production of pigments that determine hair color. Blonde hair is a result of a specific combination of genetic factors that lead to the production of less melanin, the pigment responsible for hair color. Therefore, blonde hair is an example of a phenotype, as it is an observable physical characteristic resulting from the interaction of genotype and environment.

The correct answer is Genetics. Genetics is the scientific study of heredity, which involves the study of genes, inheritance patterns, and variations in organisms. It focuses on understanding how traits are passed down from parents to offspring and how genetic information is transmitted and expressed. Meiosis is a process of cell division that produces reproductive cells, crossing over is a genetic phenomenon that occurs during meiosis, and pollination is the transfer of pollen from the male to the female reproductive organs in plants.

The gender of the offspring is determined by the male. In most species, including humans, males carry both X and Y chromosomes, while females carry two X chromosomes. During reproduction, the male contributes either an X or a Y chromosome to the fertilized egg, determining the gender of the offspring. If the male contributes an X chromosome, the offspring will be female, and if the male contributes a Y chromosome, the offspring will be male. Therefore, the male is responsible for determining the gender of the offspring.

In a genotype for plant height, such as Tt, each letter represents one allele. An allele is a variant form of a gene, and in this case, the genotype Tt indicates that the plant has one allele for tall height and one allele for short height.

A heterozygous genotype refers to having two different alleles for a particular gene. In this case, the genotype Tt represents a heterozygous genotype because it contains both the dominant allele (T) and the recessive allele (t). This means that the individual carries one copy of each allele, resulting in a phenotype that is determined by the dominant allele (T) while still being a carrier of the recessive allele (t).