How did Mendel use pea plants in his experiments to study inheritance?
What did Mendel observe when he crossbred a tall plant with a short plant?
1) The offspring were a mix of parental traits.
2) The offspring were either tall or short.
3) The offspring were medium height.
4) The offspring did not survive.
Final answer: The offspring were either tall or short.
Explanation:
Gregor Mendel used pea plants in his experiments to study inheritance by crossbreeding plants with different traits and observing the offspring. When he crossbred a tall plant with a short plant, Mendel observed that the offspring were either tall or short, not a mix of the two traits. This observation led him to formulate his laws of inheritance, which laid the foundation for modern genetics.
In his experiments with pea plants, Gregor Mendel carefully selected plants with specific traits, such as tall or short height, smooth or wrinkled seeds, and yellow or green peas. By crossbreeding these plants and analyzing the traits of the offspring, Mendel was able to establish patterns of inheritance.
One of the key observations in Mendel's experiments was when he crossbred a tall pea plant with a short pea plant. Contrary to the blending theory of inheritance, which suggested that traits would blend in offspring, Mendel found that the offspring were not a mix of the parental traits. Instead, the offspring were either tall like one parent or short like the other parent.
This clear distinction in the offspring's traits led Mendel to propose his law of segregation, which states that each individual carries two copies of a gene, one inherited from each parent. These genes segregate during the formation of gametes, ensuring the offspring receive one copy of each gene.
By meticulously recording and analyzing the results of his experiments with pea plants, Mendel was able to establish the fundamental principles of inheritance that became known as Mendelian genetics. His work laid the groundwork for our understanding of genetics and heredity.