Chapter 6

Gregor Mendel and Genetics

(Opening image courtesy of Rasbak, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blauwschokker_Kapucijner_

• Lesson 6.1: Mendel’s Investigations

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6.1 Mendel’s Investigations
Lesson 6.1: True or False
Name___________________ Class______________ Date________
Write true if the statement is true or false if the statement is false.
_____ 1. A homozygous individual could have a Bb genotype.
_____ 2. In Mendel’s experiments, purple flowers are dominant over white flowers.
_____ 3. Heredity is the science of genetics.
_____ 4. In Mendel’s initial experiments, white flowers disappeared after the first parental crosses.
_____ 5. It was his knowledge of genes that allowed Mendel to interpret his data correctly.
_____ 6. Having naturally light or dark skin is part of your phenotype.
_____ 7. Different alleles account for much of the variation in the characteristics of organisms.
_____ 8. Mendel showed that factors controlling different characteristics are inherited independently.
_____ 9. Mendel came up with the idea that two factors control a characteristic, such as pod color.
_____ 10. Mendel developed three laws of inheritance.
_____ 11. The expression of an organism’s phenotype produces its genotype.
_____ 12. After he published his work, Mendel achieved great fame among scientists.
_____ 13. Through his experiments, Mendel was able to prove some aspects of the blending theory of
inheritance.
_____ 14. A Dd genotype has two different alleles.
_____ 15. Flowers are the reproductive organs of plants.

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Lesson 6.1: Critical Reading

Name___________________ Class______________ Date________

This diagram shows Mendel’s first experiment with pea plants. The F1 generation results from cross-
pollination of two parent (P) plants. The F2 generation results from self-pollination of F1 plants. (Image
courtesy of CK-12 Foundation and under the Creative Commons license CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0.)
F1 and F2 Generations
The offspring of the P generation are called the F1 (for filial, or “offspring”) generation. As you can see from
the figure above, all of the plants in the F1 generation had purple flowers. None of them had white flowers.
Mendel wondered what had happened to the white-flower characteristic. He assumed some type of inherited
factor produces white flowers and some other inherited factor produces purple flowers. Did the white-flower
factor just disappear in the F1 generation? If so, then the offspring of the F1 generation
— called the F2 generation — should all have purple flowers like their parents. To test this prediction,
Mendel allowed the F1 generation plants to self-pollinate. He was surprised by the results. Some of the
F2 generation plants had white flowers. He studied hundreds of F2 generation plants, and for every
three purple-flowered plants, there was an average of one white-flowered plant.
Law of Segregation
Mendel did the same experiment for all seven characteristics. In each case, one value of the characteristic
disappeared in the F1 plants and then showed up again in the F2 plants. And in each case, 75 percent of F2
plants had one value of the characteristic and 25 percent had the other value. Based on these observations,
Mendel formulated his first law of inheritance. This law is called the law of segregation. It states that there
are two factors controlling a given characteristic, one of which dominates the other, and these factors

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separate and go to different gametes when a parent reproduces.
Questions
1. What did Mendel do in his first experiment?

2. What was the outcome of the F1 generation in Mendel’s first experiment?

3. What was the outcome of the F2 generation in Mendel’s first experiment?

4. Did Mendel repeat his initial experiment with other characteristics? What were his results?

5. Explain the law of segregation. Discuss the reasoning Mendel used to develop this law.

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Lesson 6.1: Multiple Choice
Name___________________ Class______________ Date________
Circle the letter of the correct choice.

1. Why did Mendel choose to work with the garden pea plant?
(a) Because the pea plant is easy to work with.
(b) Because pea plants are fast growing.
(c) Because the pea plant has a number of characteristics, each with only two forms.
(d) all of the above
2. In Mendel’s first experiment
(a) the F1 displayed all purple-flowered plants.
(b) the F1 displayed all white-flowered plants.
(c) the F2 displayed all purple-flowered plants.
(d) the F2 displayed half purple-flowered and half white-flowered plants.
3. The law of independent assortment states that
(a) two factors of the same characteristic separate into different gametes.
(b) there are dominant and recessive factors.
(c) factors controlling different characteristics are inherited independently of each other.
(d) there are two factors that control inheritance.
4. Looking at your dog will give information concerning
(a) the dog’s genotype.
(b) the dog’s phenotype.
(c) the dog’s recessive alleles.
(d) the dog’s heterozygous alleles.
5. Which sentence is correct?
(a) Different alleles of the same gene are located at the same locus on different homologous
chro-mosomes.
(b) Different alleles of the same gene are located at different loci on different homologous
chromo-somes.
(c) Different genes of the same alleles are located at the same locus on different homologous
chro-mosomes.
(d) Different alleles of the same gene are located at different loci on the same chromosome.
6. An Aa individual
(a) has a homozygous genotype.
(b) has a heterozygous phenotype.
(c) has a heterozygous genotype.
(d) has a homozygous phenotype.
7. In Mendel’s initial experiments, an example of the F2 generation would be
(a) 75 round seed plants to 25 wrinkled seed plants
(b) 75 green seed plants to 25 yellow seed plants
(c) 75 white-flowered plants to 25 purple-flowered plants
(d) all of the above
8. Which of the following is part of the law of segregation? (1) there are two factors controlling a
given characteristic, (2) one factor is dominant over the other factor, (3) the two factors separate
into different gametes.

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(a) 1 and 2
(b) 1 and 3
(c) 2 and 3
(d) 1, 2, and 3

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Lesson 6.1: Vocabulary I
Name___________________ Class______________ Date________
Match the vocabulary word with the proper definition.
Definitions
_____ 1. the science of heredity
_____ 2. an organism with two alleles of the same type
_____ 3. an organism with two different alleles
_____ 4. different version of a gene
_____ 5. states that there are two factors controlling a given characteristic, one of which dominates the
other, and these factors separate and go to different gametes
_____ 6. states that factors controlling different characteristics are inherited independently of each other
_____ 7. expressed allele in a heterozygote
_____ 8. allele that is not expressed in a heterozygote
_____ 9. the offspring of cross-pollination
_____ 10. fertilization process in the sexual reproduction of plants
_____ 11. the alleles an individual inherits
_____ 12. the expression of an organism’s genotype
Terms
a. allele
b. dominant allele
c. genetics
d. genotype
e. heterozygote
f. homozygote
g. hybrid
h. law of independent assortment
i. law of segregation
j. phenotype
k. pollination
l. recessive allele

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Lesson 6.1: Vocabulary II
Name___________________ Class______________ Date________
Fill in the blank with the appropriate term.
1. Mendel’s discoveries formed the basis of ____________, the science of heredity.
2. A(n) ____________ is an alternative form of a gene.
3. ____________ plants are a good choice to use by Mendel because they are fast growing and easy
to raise.
4. Characteristics of organisms are controlled by ____________ on chromosomes.
5. The law of ____________ states that factors controlling different characteristics are inherited
independently of each other.
6. In Mendel’s first experiment, the F1 generation flowers were all ____________ in color.
7. In all of Mendel’s first experiments, in the F2 generation, for every ____________ purple-flowered
plants, there was an average of ____________ white-flowered plant.
8. BB would be a ____________ genotype.
9. The ____________ refers to the organism’s characteristics, such as purple or white flowers.
10. Cc would be a ____________ genotype.
11. The position of a gene on a chromosome is called its ____________.
12. The law of ____________ states that there are two factors controlling a given characteristic and
these factors separate and go to different gametes.

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Lesson 6.1: Critical Writing
Name___________________ Class______________ Date________
Thoroughly answer the question below. Use appropriate academic vocabulary and clear and complete
sentences.
Describe dominant and recessive alleles, providing examples from Mendel’s work.

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6.2 Mendelian Inheritance
Lesson 6.2: True or False
Name___________________ Class______________ Date________
Write true if the statement is true or false if the statement is false.
_____ 1. The rules of probability apply to genetics.
_____ 2. If an individual has a Gg genotype, half of his gametes should have the G allele, and the other
half should have the g allele.
_____ 3. A Punnett square is a chart that allows you to easily determine the expected genotypes in the
offspring of two parents.
_____ 4. In a cross between two homozygous dominant individuals, 25% of the offspring may have the
recessive phenotype.
_____ 5. A parent cell makes gametes through the process of mitosis.
_____ 6. It is entirely likely for a gene to have more than two alleles.
_____ 7. Incomplete dominance occurs when the recessive allele is not completely dominant.
_____ 8. Your height and skin color are not just due to your genes.
_____ 9. In a cross between an individual homozygous dominant for two characteristics and an individual
homozygous recessive for the same characteristics, all of the F1 offspring will have the dominant phenotypes.
_____ 10. All genetics is fairly straightforward and follows the patterns Mendel observed in pea plants.
_____ 11. Codominance occurs when, essentially, there is no recessive allele.
_____ 12. If one parent is MM and the other parent is mm, the only possible phenotype of their offspring
is Mm.
_____ 13. The probability of inheriting either an A, B, or O allele for blood type from your parent is
33.33%.
_____ 14. In any cross between two heterozygous parents, half the offspring should have the dominant
phenotype and half the offspring should have the recessive phenotype.
_____ 15. When you toss a coin in the air, it should turn up tails 50% of the time.

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Lesson 6.2: Critical Reading
Name___________________ Class______________ Date________
Read these passages from the text and answer the questions that follow.
Using a Punnett Square
A Punnett square is a chart that allows you to easily determine the expected percents of different
genotypes in the offspring of two parents. An example of a Punnett square for pea plants is shown
below. In this example, both parents are heterozygous for flower color (Bb). The gametes produced by
the male parent are at the top of the chart, and the gametes produced by the female parent are along
the side. The different possible combinations of alleles in their offspring are determined by filling in the
cells of the Punnett square with the correct letters (alleles).

Punnett Square. This Punnett square shows a cross between two heterozygotes. Do you know where
each letter (allele) in all four cells comes from? (Image courtesy of CK-12 Foundation and under the
Creative Commons license CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0.)
Predicting Offspring Genotypes
In the cross shown in the figure above, you can see that one out of four offspring (25 percent) has the
genotype BB, one out of four (25 percent) has the genotype bb, and two out of four (50 percent) have the
genotype Bb. These percents of genotypes are what you would expect in any cross between two
heterozygous parents. Of course, when just four offspring are produced, the actual percents of genotypes
may vary by chance from the expected percents. However, if you considered hundreds of such crosses and
thousands of offspring, you would get very close to the expected results — just like tossing a coin.
Predicting Offspring Phenotypes
You can predict the percents of phenotypes in the offspring of this cross from their genotypes. B is
dominant to b, so offspring with either the BB or Bb genotype will have the purple-flower phenotype.
Only offspring with the bb genotype will have the white-flower phenotype. Therefore, in this cross, you
would expect three out of four (75 percent) of the offspring to have purple flowers and one out of four
(25 percent) to have white flowers. These are the same percents that Mendel got in his first experiment.
Questions
You may use Punnett squares to answer the following questions.
1. What are the percents of genotypes you would expect in any cross between two heterozygous
parents? Use the letters B and b in your answer.

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2. What are the percents of phenotypes you would expect in any cross between two heterozygous
parents? Use the genotypes and phenotypes in the reading above.

3. Predict the percents of genotypes you would expect in any cross between a homozygous dominant
parent and a homozygous recessive parent.

4. Predict the percents of phenotypes you would expect in any cross between a homozygous dominant
parent and a homozygous recessive parent.

5. Predict the percents of genotypes and phenotypes you would expect in any cross between a
heterozygous parent and a homozygous recessive parent.

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Lesson 6.2: Multiple Choice
Name___________________ Class______________ Date________
Circle the letter of the correct choice.

1. What is the inheritance pattern when both alleles are expressed equally in the phenotype of a het-
erozygote?
(a) multiple alleles
(b) incomplete dominance
(c) codominance
(d) polygenic characteristics
2. What is the inheritance pattern when the dominant allele is not completely dominant?
(a) multiple alleles
(b) incomplete dominance
(c) codominance
(d) polygenic characteristics
3. What is the inheritance pattern associated with the ABO blood type in humans?
(a) multiple alleles
(b) incomplete dominance
(c) codominance
(d) polygenic characteristics
4. In a cross between a homozygous dominant parent and a homozygous recessive parent, what is
the chance of the offspring having a heterozygous genotype?
(a) 25%
(b) 50%
(c) 75%
(d) 100%
5. In a cross between a homozygous dominant parent and a homozygous recessive parent, what is
the chance of the offspring having the dominant phenotype?
(a) 25%
(b) 50%
(c) 75%
(d) 100%
6. In a cross between a homozygous dominant parent and a heterozygous parent, what is the
chance of the offspring having a heterozygous genotype?
(a) 25%
(b) 50%
(c) 75%
(d) 100%
7. In a cross between a homozygous dominant parent and a heterozygous parent, what is the
chance of the offspring having the dominant phenotype?
(a) 25%
(b) 50%
(c) 75%
(d) 100%

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8. In a cross involving two heterozygous parents, which is the chance of the offspring having the
dominant phenotype?
(a) 25%
(b) 50%
(c) 75%
(d) 100%

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Lesson 6.2: Vocabulary I
Name___________________ Class______________ Date________
Match the vocabulary word with the proper definition.
Definitions
_____ 1. occurs when the dominant allele is not completely dominant
_____ 2. closely associated with appearance
_____ 3. an example of a characteristic due to multiple alleles
_____ 4. controlled by more than one gene
_____ 5. the expressed allele in a heterozygote
_____ 6. cell division involved in gamete formation
_____ 7. used to determine the expected percents of different genotypes in offspring
_____ 8. an alternative form of a gene
_____ 9. chance that a certain event will occur
_____ 10. only expressed when the other allele is absent
_____ 11. occurs when both alleles are expressed equally in the phenotype of the heterozygote
Terms
a. ABO blood type
b. allele
c. codominance
d. dominant allele
e. incomplete dominance
f. meiosis
g. phenotype
h. polygenic characteristic
i. probability
j. Punnett square
k. recessive allele

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Lesson 6.2: Vocabulary II
Name___________________ Class______________ Date________
Fill in the blank with the appropriate term.
1. If you toss a coin twice, you might expect to get ____________ head and ____________ tail.
2. A Punnett square allows you to determine the expected percents of different ____________ in the
offspring of two parents.
3. ____________ is when both alleles are expressed equally in the phenotype of the heterozygote.
4. ____________ is the chance that a certain event will occur.
5. Paired alleles always separate and go to different gametes during ____________.
6. If one parent is heterozygous and the other parent is homozygous recessive, the probability that
their child will be homozygous recessive is ____________.
7. If a parent has a Dd genotype, the probability of their child inheriting a d allele from that parent is
____________.
8. ____________ dominance occurs when the dominant allele is not completely dominant.
9. Sometimes an individual’s phenotype is not just due to his or her genes, but also ____________-
influences.
10. A cross between a homozygous dominant individual and a homozygous recessive individual will
always result in a ____________ individual.
11. ABO blood type in humans is a characteristic due to multiple ____________.
12. When a Bb pea plant forms gametes, the B and b alleles segregate and go to different ________-
____.

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Lesson 6.2: Critical Writing
Name___________________ Class______________ Date________
Thoroughly answer the question below. Use appropriate academic vocabulary and clear and complete
sentences.
Draw a Punnett square of a cross between a homozygous dominant individual and a heterozygous
individ-ual.

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