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Multiple Choice
What is the probability that a child will be born with a recessive trait if both parents are heterozygous for the trait?
A
75%
B
25%
C
10%
D
100%
E
50%
Verified step by step guidance
1
Understand that a heterozygous genotype means each parent has one dominant allele and one recessive allele for the trait in question. This can be represented as 'Aa', where 'A' is the dominant allele and 'a' is the recessive allele.
Set up a Punnett square to visualize the possible genetic combinations for the offspring. Each parent can pass on either the dominant allele (A) or the recessive allele (a).
Draw a 2x2 grid for the Punnett square. Label the top of the grid with the alleles from one parent (A and a) and the side of the grid with the alleles from the other parent (A and a).
Fill in the Punnett square by combining the alleles from each parent. The four possible combinations are: AA, Aa, Aa, and aa.
Determine the probability of the child having the recessive trait, which occurs only if the genotype is 'aa'. Count the number of 'aa' combinations in the Punnett square and divide by the total number of combinations (4) to find the probability.