Question

In a population of 525 flowering plants, the red-flower allele is dominant over the white-flower allele. In this population, 365 of the plants have red flowers and 160 have white flowers. Use the Hardy–Weinberg equation to determine the allele frequency for the recessive, white-flower allele in the population. Round your response to two decimal places.

Answer 1

The allele frequency of the white-flower allele is 0.55

OR

f(a) = 0.55

Step-by-step explanation:

Let red=A and white=a; A>a

We know the the Hardy-Weinberg equation to be:

p²+2pq+q²

But we are not given the individual number of plants that are homozygous for red (AA) and heterozygous for red coloring (Aa).

f(AA)+f(Aa) = 365/525 = 0.695

f(aa) = 160/525 = 0.305

q²=f(a)²=f(aa)= 0.305

∴ q = f(a) =
`√(0.305)` = 0.55

And we know p+q = 1

∴ f(A) = p = 1-q = 1-0.55 = 0.45

f(Aa) = 2pq = 2(0.45)(0.55) = 0.495

To make sure your answer is correct: p²+2pq+q²=1

(0.45)²+2(0.45)(0.55)+(0.55)=1

1=1