a) The earlobes of an individual are detached or attached - Edexcel - GCSE Biology - Question 1 - 2012 - Paper 1
Question 1
a) The earlobes of an individual are detached or attached. This is determined by the alleles inherited from their parents.
An individual with attached earlobes must... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:a) The earlobes of an individual are detached or attached - Edexcel - GCSE Biology - Question 1 - 2012 - Paper 1
Step 1
State the genetic term used to describe an individual with the genotype ee for attached earlobes.
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Answer
The genetic term used to describe an individual with the genotype ee for attached earlobes is 'homozygous recessive.' This means that the individual has two identical recessive alleles.
Step 2
Draw a Punnett square to show the inheritance of the alleles.
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Answer
To illustrate the inheritance of alleles, we create a Punnett square:
| E | e
---|----|----
e | Ee | ee |
e | Ee | ee |
This demonstrates the potential offspring genotypes.
In this case, there are two Ee (heterozygous) and two ee (homozygous recessive) offspring genotypes.
Step 3
Determine the probability of obtaining an offspring with attached earlobes.
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Answer
The probability of obtaining an offspring with attached earlobes (genotype ee) is 2 out of 4, or 50%. This can also be expressed as: