Reviewing Genetics

Reviewing Genetics

Name: Date: Class:

____________________________________________________________________________

Follow the instructions. Answer the questions in the space provided.

Introduction
Inherited traits in an organism are controlled by the genes passed on from the
organism’s parents.

Part 1: Review
Review some basic concepts in the prerequisite section then complete the following
questions to test your knowledge.

1. For each genotype, determine whether it is homozygous or heterozygous.

Genotype Homozygous / Genotype Homozygous /

Heterozygous Heterozygous

Aa Heterozygous oo Homozygous

BB Homozygous Gg Heterozygous

Jj Heterozygous KK Homozygous

ff Homozygous EE Homozygous

2. For each genotype, determine the phenotype.

The allele for purple flowers (P) is The allele for brown eyes (B) is
dominant to the allele for white flowers dominant to the allele for blue eyes (b).
(p).

Genotype Phenotype Genotype Phenotype

Pp Purple flowers BB brown eyes

PP Purple flowers Bb brown eyes

pp White flowers bb blue eyes

Copyright @ Alef Education Page 2 of 11

 Reviewing Genetics

Name: Date: Class:

____________________________________________________________________________

The allele for short hair (l) is recessive The allele for pointed ears (e) is
to the allele for long hair (L). recessive to the allele for elongated
ears (E).

Genotype Phenotype Genotype Phenotype

ll Short hair EE Elongated ears

Ll Long hair ee Pointed ears

LL Long hair Ee Elongated ears

3. For each phenotype, list all the possible genotypes. Use the first letter of the
dominant trait. The capital letter will represent the dominant allele and the
lowercase letter will represent the recessive allele.

For the leaf shape trait of a plant, For the beetle’s shell shape trait,
curly leaves are dominant to straight pointed shell is dominant to rounded
leaves. shell.

Genotype Phenotype Genotype Phenotype

CC Curly PP Pointed shell

Cc Curly Pp Pointed shell

cc Straight pp Rounded shell

a. How many different allele combinations are there for a single gene with two
possible alleles? Explain.

There are three possible genotypes for a single gene with two alleles (A and a):
homozygous dominant (AA), heterozygous (Aa), and homozygous recessive
(aa). This is because each gene can be either the dominant or recessive form,
leading to combinations of the same alleles or different alleles.

Copyright @ Alef Education Page 3 of 11

 Reviewing Genetics

Name: Date: Class:

____________________________________________________________________________

Part 2: Crosses and Punnett Squares

A Punnett square is a graphic way of determining all the possible genetic outcomes of a
cross (a selected mating between two individual plants or animals). A Punnett square is
very useful in predicting the genotype and phenotype of offspring.

Let us start with a cross between two true-breeding plants. True-breeding plants are
plants that have been bred especially to have a homozygous genotype for a specific
trait.

A farmer has two true-breeding plants, one with purple flowers and one with white
flowers. The purple color is the dominant trait. To find out what to expect from a cross of
these two plants, we can fill a Punnett square. Let us review the steps of filling in a
Punnett square.

Copyright @ Alef Education Page 4 of 11

 Reviewing Genetics

Name: Date: Class:

____________________________________________________________________________
Step 1 Designate letters to represent alleles.

The capital letter represents the

dominant allele.

The lowercase letter represents the

recessive allele.

Step 2 Write the genotype and phenotype of

the parents. Parent Genotype Phenotyp
e
Since they are true-breeding plants,
each is homozygous (has identical PP purple
alleles). flower

pp white
flower

Step 3 One parent will contribute the male

gamete and the other the female
gamete.

Each gamete will have one of the two

alleles of its parent.

Fill in the genotype of each possible

gamete for both parents in the
Punnett square.

Step 4 Find all the possible zygote

genotypes (combined male and
female gametes) and write them in
the corresponding square.

NOTE!
Capital letters are always written first.

Copyright @ Alef Education Page 5 of 11

 Reviewing Genetics

Name: Date: Class:

____________________________________________________________________________
Step 5 Count the different genotypes and
phenotypes you obtained from the Genotype ratio 4 Pp: 0 PP : 0
cross and write down the ratio pp
between them.
Phenotype ratio 4 purple flower :
0 white flower

Questions

1. Circle the right answer. The genotype of all the offspring of the cross performed
above was:
a. homozygous dominant
b. heterozygous
c. homozygous recessive

2. Explain why all the offspring of the cross between the two true-breeding plants
had the dominant trait.

All offspring were heterozygous (Pp), inheriting one dominant allele (P)
from the purple-flowered parent and one recessive allele (p) from the
white-flowered parent. The presence of at least one dominant allele leads to
the expression of the dominant phenotype (purple flowers)

Copyright @ Alef Education Page 6 of 11

 Reviewing Genetics

Name: Date: Class:

____________________________________________________________________________
Practice
1. For the fur color trait in rabbits, the brown fur allele (B) is dominant to the white fur
allele (b). Fill in the Punnett square for each cross listed.
a. Bb x bb b. BB x Bb

Parent 1 Parent 1
Gametes Gametes
B b B B
Bb Bb BB BB
Parent 2 b Parent 2 B
Gametes Gametes
b Bb bb Bb Bb
b

c. BB x bb d. Bb x Bb

Parent 1 Parent 1
Gametes Gametes

B B B b
Bb Bb BB Bb
Parent 2 b Parent 2 B
Gametes Gametes
b Bb Bb b Bb bb

Copyright @ Alef Education Page 7 of 11

 Reviewing Genetics

Name: Date: Class:

____________________________________________________________________________
2. Record the number of genotype occurrences, the genotype ratio and the phenotype
ratio of each of the crosses in the table below.

Cross a Cross b Cross c Cross d

Bb x bb BB x Bb BB x bb Bb x Bb

BB 0 2 2 1
Genotype
Occurrence Bb
2 2 0 2

bb 2 0 0 1

0:2:2 2:2:0 2:0:0 1:2:1

Genotype ratio

2 Brown : 2 4 Brown : 0 4 Brown : 0 3 Brown : 1

Phenotype ratio White White White White

3. If two rabbits with white fur were crossed, what percentage of their offspring will have
brown fur? Explain your reasoning using a Punnett Square.

Parent 1 Gametes
Genotype ratio

0 Brown : 4
b b White
bb bb
Phenotype ratio
Parent 2 b
Gametes
bb bb 0% will have
b brown fur; all
will have white
fur

Copyright @ Alef Education Page 8 of 11

 Reviewing Genetics

Name: Date: Class:

____________________________________________________________________________

4. What color fur will the offspring of true-breeding brown-furred parents have? Explain
your reasoning using a Punnett square.

Parent 1 Gametes
Genotype ratio

B B 4 BB

BB BB
Phenotype ratio
Parent 2 B
Gametes
B BB BB 100% Brown
fur (all
offspring will
express the
dominant
phenotype).

5. For the seed shape trait of pea plants, round seeds are dominant to wrinkled seeds.

a. What are the possible genotypes of a round seed plant and of a wrinkled seed
plant? Enter your answer.

Phenotypes Possible Genotypes

Round seed plant RR Rr

Wrinkled seed plant rr

Copyright @ Alef Education Page 9 of 11

 Reviewing Genetics

Name: Date: Class:

____________________________________________________________________________

b. A round seed plant and a wrinkled seed plant were crossed several times. Out of
all the offspring, half had wrinkled seeds and half had round seeds. What are the
probable genotypes of the parents? Use a Punnett square to show your answer.

Parent 1 Gametes
Genotype ratio

2 Rr : 2 rr
R r
Rr rr
Phenotype ratio
Parent 2 r
Gametes
Rr rr 2 Round : 2
r Wrinkled (1:1).

c. A round seed plant and a wrinkled seed plant were crossed several times. All the
offspring had round seeds. What is the probable genotype of the parent plants?
Use a Punnett square to show your answer.

Parent 1 Gametes
Genotype ratio

R R 4 RR

Copyright @ Alef Education Page 10 of 11

 Reviewing Genetics

Name: Date: Class:

____________________________________________________________________________

R RR RR
Phenotype ratio
Parent 2
Gametes
R RR RR 100% Round
seeds (all
offspring will
express the
dominant
phenotype).

Copyright @ Alef Education Page 11 of 11