Question

If you were to sample garden pea plants in Mendel’s garden, which of the following statements would hold?

(a) Round seeds were more abundant than wrinkled seeds

(b) Wrinkled seeds were more abundant than round seeds

(c) Both round and wrinkled seeds were equally abundant

(d) Answer depends on the time of day when sampling is done

The question was asked in a national level competition.

This interesting question is from Mendel’s Laws of Inheritance-2 in division Principles of Inheritance and Variation of Biology – Class 12

Answer 1

The correct answer is (a) Round seeds were more abundant than wrinkled seeds

For explanation I would say: Dominant allele can express even in the presence of a recessive allele. Hence dominant phenotype is more common. Round seeds are dominant over wrinkled seeds; hence would be more abundant.