AP Biology

Genetics practice problems

Directions: Complete 1-26 in your notebook. Show all work and box your answers.
1. To identify the genotype of yellow-seeded pea plants as either homozygous dominant (YY) or heterozygous (Yy), you could do
a test cross with plants of genotype _______. A test cross is used to determine if the genotype of a plant with the dominant
phenotype is homozygous or heterozygous. If the unknown is homozygous, all of the offspring of the test cross have the
__________ phenotype. If the unknown is heterozygous, half of the offspring will have the __________ phenotype.

2. A genetic cross of inbred snapdragons with red flowers with inbred snapdragons with white flowers resulted in F1-hybrid
offspring that all had pink flowers. When the F1 plants were self-pollinated, the resulting F2-generation plants had a
phenotypic ratio of 1 red: 2 pink: 1 white. The most likely explanation is what mode of inheritance? _____________________

3. Manx cats are heterozygous for a dominant mutation that results in no tails (or very short tails), large hind legs, and a
distinctive gait. The mating of two Manx cats yields two Manx kittens for each normal, long-tailed kitten, rather than 3:1 as
would be predicted from Mendelian genetics. Therefore, the mutation causing the Manx cat phenotype is likely a(n)
__________ allele. (think - where did the missing cat go?)

4. Four babies are born in a hospital, and each baby has a different blood type: A, B, AB, and O. The parents of these babies
have the following pairs of blood groups: A and B, O and O, AB and O, and B and B. Which baby belongs to which parents?

5. Fur color in rabbits is determined by a single gene locus for which there are four alleles. Four phenotypes are possible:
black, Chinchilla (gray color caused by white hairs with black tips), Himalayan (white with black patches on extremities), and
white. The black allele C is dominant over all other alleles, the Chinchilla allele (Cch) is dominant over Himalayan (Ch), and the
white allele c is recessive to all others.
a. A black rabbit is crossed with a Himalayan, and the F1 consists of a ratio of 2 black to 2 Chinchilla. Determine the
genotypes of the parents.
b. A second cross was done between a black rabbit and a Chinchilla. The F1 contained a ratio of 2 black to 1 chinchilla
to 1 Himalayan. Determine the genotypes of the parents of this cross.

6. A pea plant is heterozygous for both seed shape and seed color. S is the allele for the dominant, spherical shape
characteristic; s is the allele for the recessive, wrinkled shape characteristic. Y is the allele for the dominant, yellow color
characteristic; y is the allele for the recessive, green color characteristic. What gametes can this plant produce?

7. A phenotype ratio of 9:3:3:1 in the offspring of a mating of two organisms heterozygous for two traits is expected when:

8. The expected phenotypic ratio of the progeny of a SsYy x ssyy test cross (or any dihybrid test cross) is:

9. In a dihybrid cross, AaBb x Aabb, what fraction of the offspring will be homozygous for both recessive traits?

10. Two unlinked loci effect mouse hair color. CC or Cc mice are agouti. Mice with genotype cc are albino because all pigment
production and deposition of pigment in hair is blocked. At the second locus, the B allele (black agouti coat) is dominant to
the b allele (brown agouti coat). A mouse with a black agouti coat is mated with an albino mouse of genotype bbcc. Half of
the offspring are albino, one quarter are black agouti, and one quarter are brown agouti. What is the mode of inheritance of
coat color in mice? What is the genotype of the black agouti parent?

11. In mice, the gene C causes pigment to be produced, while the recessive gene c makes it impossible to produce pigment.
Individuals without pigment are albino. Another gene, B, located on a different chromosome, causes a chemical reaction with
the pigment and produces a black coat color. The recessive gene, b, causes an incomplete breakdown of the pigment, and a
tan, or light-brown, color is produced. The genes that produce black or tan coat color rely on the gene C, which produces
pigment, but are independent of it. Indicate the phenotypes of the parents and provide the genotypic and phenotypic ratios
of the F1 generation from the following crosses:
a) CCBB x Ccbb
(b) ccBB x CcBb
(c) CcBb x ccbb
(d) CcBb x CcBb
 12. In Mendel's experiments, the spherical seed character (SS) is completely dominant over the wrinkled seed character (ss). If
the characters for height were incompletely dominant, such that TT are tall, Tt are intermediate and tt are short, what would
be the phenotypes resulting from crossing a spherical-seed, short (SStt) plant to a wrinkled-seed, tall (ssTT) plant?

13. Karen and Steve each had a sibling with Tay-Sachs. Neither Karen, Steve, nor any of their parents has the disease, and none of
them has been tested. Based on this incomplete information, calculate the probability that if this couple has a child, the child
will have Tay-Sachs.

14. In sesame plants, the one-pod condition (P) is dominant to the three-pod conditions (p), and normal leaf (L) is dominant to
wrinkled leaf (l). Pod type and leaf type are inherited independently. Determine the genotypes for the two parents for all
possible matings producing the following offspring:
a. 318 one-pod normal, 98 one-pod wrinkled
b. 323 three-pod normal, 106 three-pod wrinkled
c. 401 one-pod normal
d. 150 one-pod normal, 147 one-pod wrinkled, 51 three-pod normal, 48 three-pod wrinkled
e. 223 one-pod normal, 72 one-pod wrinkled, 76 three-pod normal, 27 three-pod wrinkled

15. The pedigree below traces the inheritance of alkaptonuria, a biochemical disorder. Affected individuals, indicated here by the
filled-in circles and squares, are unable to break down a substance called alkapton, which colors the urine and stains body
tissues. Does alkaptonuria appear to be caused by a dominant or recessive allele? Autosomal or sex-linked? Fill in the
genotypes of the individuals whose genotypes you know. What genotypes are possible for each of the other individuals?

16. If a man who is color blind has children with a woman whose father was also color blind:
a. What is the chance they will have a color blind daughter?
b. What is the chance that their daughter is color blind?
c. What is the chance their son is color blind?
(Pay attention to the wording It matters!)

17. In a cross between blue fuzzy tribbles and black smooth tribbles the following offspring are produced when black and
smooth are the recessive traits:
100 blue fuzzy
100 black smooth
50 blue smooth
50 black fuzzy
Are the genes for color (B) and fur (F) linked or unlinked? If linked, how far apart are they?

18. Given the following recombination frequencies, determine the relative locations of the following genes on the chromosome.
A B C

A x 5 12
B 5 x 7
C 12 7 x

19. In garden peas, one pair of alleles controls the height of the plant and a second pair of allele controls flower color. The allele for
tall (T) is dominant to the allele for dwarf (t), and the allele for purple (P) is dominant to the allele for white (p).
a. A tall plant with purple flowers crossed with a dwarf plant with white flowers produces 1/2 tall with purple flowers and 1/2 tall
with white flowers. What are the genotypes of the parents?
b. A tall plant with white flowers crossed with a dwarf plant with purple flowers produces all tall offspring with purple flowers.
What are the genotypes of the parents?
c. A tall plant with purple flowers crossed with a dwarf plant with white flowers produces 1/4 tall purple, 1/4 tall white, 1/4 dwarf
purple and 1/4 dwarf white. What are the genotypes of the parents?
d. A tall plant with white flowers crossed with a dwarf plant with purple flowers produces 1/4 tall purple, 1/4 tall white, 1/4 dwarf
purple, and 1/4 dwarf white. What are the genotypes of the parents?
e. A tall plant with purple flowers crossed with a short plant with purple flowers produces 3/8 tall purple, 1/8 tall white, 3/8 dwarf
purple, and 1/8 dwarf white. What are the genotypes of the parents?

20. In sweet peas, both genes C and P are necessary for colored flowers. In the absence of either (__pp or cc___) or both (ccpp), the
flowers are white. What is the mode of inheritance in this problem? What will be the color of the offspring of the crosses and in
what proportions for the following?
a) CcPp x ccpp
b) CcPp x CcPp
c) CcPP x Ccpp
d) Ccpp x ccPp

21. A student counts 1920 kernels of corn from the F2 progeny of a dihybrid cross. The observed number of progeny in each
phenotypic class was 998 tall smooth; 410 tall wrinkled; 376 short wrinkled; and 136 short smooth. Use the table below to
determine the expected number, the chi-squared value, and the probability of the observed values not differing significantly from the
expected 9:3:3:1 ratio. Do the data fit the model of independent assortment, or are the genes for height and seed shape linked?

22. Given the following recombination frequencies, determine the relative locations of the following genes on the chromosome.
J AND K = 12%
J AND M = 9%
K AND L = 6%
L AND M = 15%

23. The genes ABCD are on the same chromosome but not necessarily in this order. The map distances between genes are:
A to B 8
A to C 6
C to D 4
B to C 14
B to D 18
Given this information, determine the relative location of the 4 genes on the chromosome.

24. In chickens, 2 different genes, P and R, are involved in comb type. Rose comb is formed when R alleles are present, Single comb
when rr. Pea comb is formed when the dominant P allele is present, single comb when pp. When R and P are present together in the
same individual, the result is Walnut comb, while rrpp results in single comb. The loci of P and R are on different chromosomes.
Suppose a Walnut comb chicken is crossed with a Rose comb chicken and they produce 3 Rose comb, 3 Walnut comb, 1 Single comb
and 1 Pea comb. What are the parental genotypes? What type of inheritance is this?

25. A man who is an achondroplastic dwarf with normal vision marries a color-blind woman of normal height. The man's father was
six feet tall, and both the woman's parents were of average height. Achondroplastic dwarfism is lethal and autosomal dominant, and
red-green color blindness is X-linked recessive. How many of their daughters might be expected to be color-blind dwarfs? They have
one daughter who is a dwarf with normal color vision. What is the probability that she is heterozygous for both genes?

26. Calico is a coat color found on cats, which is caused by a sex linked allele. Show each of the crosses below. Include the phenotypic
ratios expected in the offspring for males and females.
a. A black male crossed with an orange female.
b. An orange male crossed with a calico female.
c. An orange male crossed with an orange female
d. A black male crossed with a calico female

Scroll to next page for selected answers

13) 1/9 chance (⅔ x ⅔ x ¼) B/c they each have an affected sibling, their parents were both carriers, meaning
they also have a ⅔ chance of being a carrier, then if they both are, they have a ¼ chance of passing it on.

14a) P_Ll X PPLl b) ppLl X ppLl c) P_L_ X PPLL

16a) ¼ b) ½ c) ½

17) yes, 33 mu apart

18) A ----5----B-------7-------C

19a) TTPp X ttpp b) TTpp X ttPP c) TtPp X ttpp

20a) ¾ white, ¼ color b) 9 colored: 7 white

21) X2 = 15.91, significant difference, indicates the two genes are linked/do not follow independent assortment

24) RrPp X Rrpp, epistasis

25) None, 100% percent chance

26a) ½ calico female, ½ orange male