EFREN MENDEZ BUNAGAN JR.

TABLE 1: A Summary Results of Mendel’s Original Crosses

TRAIT Dominant X Dominant Recessive Ratio (use

recessive two
decimal
places)
Seed form Round x Wrinkled 54.74 1850 2.96
Seed color Yellow x Green 60.22 2001 3.01
Flower Axial x Terminal 651 207 3.15
position
Flower color Purple x White 705 224 3.15
Pod form Inflated x 882 229 2.95
Constricted
Pod color Green x Yellow 428 152 2.82
Stem length Tall x Drawf 787 278 2.85

TABLE 2: Results from the F2 Generation Following a Cross of Round Yellow

and Wrinkled Green Parents in the P Generation.

Traits Round, Wrinkled, Round, Wrinkled,

yellow yellow green green
Number of seeds 315 101 108 32
showing each trait
Tally and compare separately the round vs. Wrinkled and the yellow vs. green
ratio to see if the traits follow a Mendelian 3:1 ratio.

# Round # Wrinkled Ratio (2 decimal

places)
315 101 3.12
# Yellow # Green Ratio ( 2 decimal
places)
413 133 3.11
• Calculate the phenotype ratio when taking both traits into account (hint:
divide the number of each observed phenotype by the number observed for
the double-recessive trait).

9.84 : 3.16 : 3.38 : 1

ACTIVITY 1:
In this activity you will see how the laws of chance relate to biological
occurrences. Mendel realized the role of chance in heredity and it was a
radical.In this activity you will see how the laws of chance relate to biological
occurrences. Mendel realized the role of chance in heredity and it was a
radical concept for its time.

Materials (per team of two students)

Two coins (which can be different types).

Background information and Questions

Fortunately for casino operators, many people do not truly understand the
statistics behind random chance. For an event that is truly random (contrary
to the rumor, coins flips really are random), the previous results have no
bearing on the next outcome. A coin that has flipped tails up three times in
a row doesn’t “know” that it is “due” so the next flip is still random.

What are the odds of a normal coin landing heads up after being
flipped?

• The odds are 1:1 or 50%. A fair coin has an equal chance of landing heads
or tails.

What is the probability (odds) of two coins both landing heads up

after being flipped? (Hint: the probability of a sequential event is
the probability of each event separately, multiplied together.)

• The probability of one coin landing heads is ½.

• The probability of the second coin also landing heads is ½.

• The probability of both events happening is (1/2) * (1/2) = ¼ or 25%.

What is the probability of three coins all landing heads up after

being flipped?

• Following the same logic, the probability is (1/2) * (1/2) * (1/2) = 1/8 or
12.5%.
Imagine three coins are flipped, but one at a time. The first two
coins both land heads. What are the odds of the last coin landing
heads up?

• The odds are still 1:1 or 50%. Each coin flip is an independent event,
meaning the previous flips don’t influence the outcome of the next flip.

Procedure:

1. Complete the Punnett squares below. (A = any generic dominant

trait; a = any generic recessive trait)

A. Aa x Aa cross

A a
A AA Aa
a Aa aa

B. Aa x Aa cross

A a
a Aa aa
a Aa aa

A) Record the genotype and phenotype ratios for the Aa x Aa cross.

- Genotype Ratio: 1 AA : 2 Aa : 1 aa (1:2:1)

- Phenotype Ratio: 3 dominant phenotype : 1 recessive phenotype (3:1)

B) Record the genotype and phenotype ratios for the Aa x aa cross.

- Genotype Ratio: 1 Aa : 1 aa (1:1)

- Phenotype Ratio: 1 dominant phenotype : 1 recessive phenotype (1:1)

2. Create a Punnett square to predict the outcome of tossing two

coins (assume heads is one allele and tails is the other, neither is
dominant).

H T
H HH HT
 T HT TT

3. Flip or toss your two coins 100 times (Yes, you have to do it 100
times). Put tallies in the top boxes and then count the tallies and
write the number in the total row of the table.

Heads/Heads Heads/Tails Tails/Tails

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIII
Actual 24 1858
Total
Predicted 25 50 25
3a. Fill in the predicted number (based out of 100 flips) of each
category based on your Punnett square from question #1.

• Do the actual results match your prediction? Explain why do they

and do they not.

- The actual results are slightly different from the predicted results.
While the predicted results show a more even distribution, the actual
results show a slightly higher frequency of Heads/Tails and a lower
frequency of Tails/Tails. This difference is due to the inherent
randomness of coin tosses. While the Punnett square predicts the
probabilities of each outcome, in a small sample size (100 flips), the
actual results may deviate from the expected probabilities.

4. If you toss the coins 1000 times instead of 100, would you expect
the actual and predicted numbers to match more closely than you
saw after 100 flips, be the same as after 100, or become very
different? Explain.

• The larger the sample size, the more likely the observed results are to
reflect the true probabilities. With a smaller sample size (like 100 flips),
random variations can have a greater impact on the results. But with a
larger sample size (like 1000 flips), these random variations tend to average
out, bringing the actual results closer to the predicted probabilities.

ACTIVITY 2:

This activity investigates crosses between pea plants that are different in two
trait characteristics (a dihybrid cross) with each pair having one dominant
and one recessive allele—and how each gene pair acts independently of the
other. Phenotypes in the resultant generations will be, on average, in a ratio
of 9:3:3:1 demonstrating the independence, or independent assortment, of
these two gene pairs.

Materials needed:

Two four-sided pyramidal dice

Table for genotype and phenotype:

Die Number Genotype Phenotype

1 RY Round Yellow
2 Ry Round green
3 rY wrinkled Yellow
4 ry wrinkled green
1. Which traits (seed form and seed color) are dominant?

• Seed form (Round or wrinkled): Round (R)

• Seed color (Yellow or green): Yellow (Y)

Which traits are recessive?

• Seed form: Wrinkled (r)

• Seed color: Green (y)

2. What is the genotype of the F1 generation following Mendel’s P

cross of a pure dominant pea plant (RRYY) with a double recessive
plant (rryy)?

• Genotype: All F1 plants will be heterozygous for both traits, so the

genotype will be RrYy.

What would be the only phenotype observed from this cross?

• The phenotype will be Round Yellow because both round and yellow are
dominant traits.

3. Complete the Punnett square showing possible outcomes for the

F2 Generation ( cross RrYy x RrYy).

RY Ry rY ry
RY RRYY RRYy RrYY RrYy
Ry RRYy RRyy RrYy Rryy
rY RrYY RrYy rrYY rrYy
ry RrYy Rryy rrYy rryy
4. Calculate the expected phenotypic ratio based on the outcome of
the Punnett square:

• When taking both traits into account, the phenotypic ratio follows the
9:3:3:1 rule for dihybrid crosses:

Round Yellow (dominant for both traits): 9

Round green (dominant for seed form, recessive for seed color): 3

Wrinkled Yellow (recessive for seed form, dominant for seed color): 3

Wrinkled green (recessive for both traits): 1

So, the expected phenotypic ratio is:

Round Yellow : Round green : Wrinkled Yellow : Wrinkled green = 9 : 3 : 3 : 1

Round Yellow:Round green:Wrinkled Yellow:Wrinkled green=9:3:3:1

5. Use the two four-sided dice to generate some random data that
simulates the uniting of gene pairs in a new organism (zygote).
Read the dice by reading the number on the point of each die that is
facing up. The two numbers correspond to a pair of alleles as shown
in the chart in the materials section. Thus a roll of 1, 4 would
represent RY and ry coming together as the genotype RrYy. The
phenotype for this combination is Round Yellow, so that is the
column where the mark is written.

• Toss the dice about 80 times and record the phenotypes generated
by each roll in the chart below (use a tally mark for each one). If you
accidentally go over 80, use all data you have.

Round Yellow Round Wrinkled Wrinkled

1,1 1,2 1,3 1,4 2,3 Green Yellow Green
2,2 2,4 3,3 3,4 4,4
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIII
IIIIII
Total 44 16 12 8
Use your totals and calculate the phenotypic ratio observed from
the dice toss (use 2 decimal places).
0.55 : 0.20 : 0.15 : 0.10

6. Put your data on the board as directed by your teacher. Total all
the class data and recalculate the phenotypic ratio for the whole
class total.

Class Total:

Round Yellow Round Green Wrinkled Wrinkled Green

RY Ry Yellow ry
rY
678 226 221 75
• Explain (referencing rules of probability as related to sample size)
any differences seen from group to group and overall compared to
the predicted outcome. In other words, why is the class total (or
maybe certain individual groups) closer to the “perfect” 9:3:3:1
ratio than others are?

- The class total data, with a phenotypic ratio of 678:226:221:75, is

closer to the “perfect” 9:3:3:1 ratio than the individual group data. This
is due to the larger sample size. The rules of probability dictate that
larger sample sizes lead to results that more accurately reflect the true
probabilities. With smaller sample sizes, random variations can
significantly affect the results. However, when you combine data from
multiple groups, these random variations tend to cancel each other
out, resulting in a class total that is closer to the expected ratio.
Therefore, the class total data provides a more accurate representation
of the expected phenotypic ratio because it is based on a larger
sample size, minimizing the impact of random variations.