Question

6. The probability that a baby will be a boy is ½ as is the probability that a baby will be a girl. Explain this fact by explaining the mechanism of meiosis in the production of gametes and the process of fertilization. If a family has 4 boys and 3 girls, what is the probability that the next child will be a girl?

Please show all work.

Answer 1

Response to the first question (I don't quite know how to explain the second): (Here's my simple version, just based off of common sense and background knowledge rather than a textbook. Hope it works!)
Gender is determined by the X and Y chromosomes. Females are XX, males are XY. Since there is already a ratio of 3:1 X:Y chromosomes, meaning that there are many more X chromosomes than Y chromosomes, it is more likely for the child to be female, because they are more likely to get two X chromosomes.