In a population, freckles is inherited as a dominant trait. Individuals that are homozygous recessive lack freckles. If 1% of the population lacks freckles, and the population is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium at this locus, what percentage of the next generation will lack freckles?
A) None, since it is a recessive condition.
B) 1%
C) 2%
D) 50%
E) 99%

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

In a population in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the frequency of the recessive allele (in this case, for not having freckles) is represented by the square root of the frequency of homozygous recessive individuals. Since 1% of the population lacks freckles, the frequency of the homozygous recessive genotype is 0.01. Taking the square root of 0.01 gives a frequency of 0.1 for the recessive allele. Using the Hardy-Weinberg equation, the frequency of homozygous recessive individuals in the next generation would be 0.01 (or 1%), which corresponds to the individuals lacking freckles.

In a Population, Freckles Is Inherited as a Dominant Trait