Final answer:
On the sides of a Punnett square, the alleles from each parent are depicted. These alleles, represented as letters, correspond to different versions of a trait, such as eye color or seed color in plants. The interior squares show the potential genetic combinations in the offspring.
Step-by-step explanation:
The elements that are produced by each parent and shown on the sides of Punnett squares are the genetic alleles of each parent. An allele is a variant form of a gene. Some genes have a variety of different forms, which are located at the same position, or genetic locus, on a chromosome.
In Punnett squares, the alleles are represented by letters. For instance, 'B' might represent a dominant allele for a specific trait like eye color, and 'b' would represent a recessive allele.
Let's take a hypothetical example of pea plants with the trait for seed color. In this case, 'Y' might represent the dominant allele for yellow seeds, and 'y' would represent the recessive allele for green seeds. If the parent plants had genotypes YY (homozygous for yellow seeds) and yy (homozygous for green seeds), then these alleles would be listed along the top and side of the Punnett square.
The interior squares of the Punnett square represent possible genetic combinations of the offspring. For each interior square, one allele comes from each parent, representing the combination of genetic material that could occur through sexual reproduction.
Learn more about Punnett Squares