Genetics Questions

Answer the following questions. When you are asked about genotypes, use the words “homozygous
dominant, homozygous recessive or heterozygous” in your answers. Just giving the letter combination
(i.e. Pp) is not sufficient.

1. Purple flowers are dominant over white flowers. Cross two heterozygous parents and provide
the ratios of offspring, both phenotypically and genotypically.
a.
Pp(purple;heterozygous) x P p
Pp(purple;heterozygous)

P PP Pp

p Pp pp
PP(purple; homozygous dominant)= 25% Pp (purple; Heterozygous)= 50%
pp (white; homozygous recessive)= 25%

2. A black rat is crossed with a white rat and all the offspring are grey. What is the most likely
explanation for this result? What are the genotypes of each parent and the offspring?
a. The most likely explanation for these offspring is incomplete dominance
b. Parent: RR Parent: rr Offspring: Rr
3. A woman with type A blood has a child with type O blood. The person she claims is the father
has type B blood. Is this possible? Provide an explanation using your understanding of
genetics.
a. Yes, this can be possible. The woman can be blood type AO and the supposed father’s
blood type could be BO. If both parents give O, the child’s blood type would be OO
4. In Mendel’s pea plants, green pods are dominant over yellow pods and purple flowers are
dominant over white flowers.
a. Using letters, write the expression that shows an individual who is heterozygous for
each trait. Gg and Pp
b. Now, write the 4 possible combinations of alleles that would be found in the gametes.
i. GP Gp gP gp
5. A purple flower pea plant could have genotype homozygous dominant (PP) or heterozygous
(Pp). What genetic cross could you make to determine the genotype of this plant? Explain
how such a cross would allow you to deduce whether the purple plant is homozygous
dominant or heterozygous.

a. You could cross it with a white flower (homozygous recessive) and if all the offspring are
purple, then the pea plant is PP (homozygous dominant). If half of the offspring are
white, then the pea plant is Pp (heterozygous).