CLEP - Biology Mendelian Inheritance Patterns Questions and Answers

Question 1

Mendel's Law of Segregation states that during the formation of gametes, the two alleles for a heritable character:

Accepted Answer

separate from each other, so that each gamete ends up with only one allele.

Answer

fuse together, creating a new blended allele.

Answer

assort independently of other pairs of alleles.

Answer

remain together, so that both are passed on to the offspring.

Question 2

In a dihybrid cross between two heterozygous individuals (e.g., RrYy x RrYy), what is the expected phenotypic ratio of the offspring, assuming complete dominance and independent assortment?

Accepted Answer

9:3:3:1

Answer

1:2:1

Answer

3:1

Answer

1:1:1:1

Question 3

A cross between a red-flowered snapdragon (RR) and a white-flowered snapdragon (WW) produces all pink-flowered offspring (RW). This pattern of inheritance is known as:

Accepted Answer

Incomplete dominance

Answer

Codominance

Answer

Complete dominance

Answer

Polygenic inheritance

Question 4

Which of the following is a key characteristic of an autosomal recessive inheritance pattern?

Accepted Answer

The trait can skip generations, and affected offspring can have unaffected parents.

Answer

The trait appears in every generation.

Answer

Affected offspring must have at least one affected parent.

Answer

Males are affected more frequently than females.

Question 5

In humans, red-green color blindness is an X-linked recessive trait. If a colorblind man marries a woman who is a carrier for the trait, what is the probability that their son will be colorblind?

Accepted Answer

50%

Answer

100%

Answer

25%

Answer

0%

Question 6

When both alleles for a trait are fully and separately expressed in a heterozygous individual, such as in the AB blood type in humans, this is an example of:

Accepted Answer

Codominance

Answer

Incomplete dominance

Answer

Pleiotropy

Answer

Epistasis