Question

A mother is heterozygous for curly hair (Cc) and the father is homozygous recessive for straight hair (cc). The parents would prefer that their child have curly hair. Explain the probability of their child having curly hair.

Answer 1

The probability of the child having curly hair is 50%.

Step-by-step explanation:

The probability of a child having curly hair can be determined using a Punnett square. In this case, the mother is heterozygous for curly hair (Cc) and the father is homozygous recessive for straight hair (cc).

When the parents are crossed, the possible genotypes for their child are Cc and cc. The child will only have curly hair if they inherit the dominant allele (C) from the mother. Therefore, the probability of the child having curly hair is 50%.

This means that there is an equal chance of the child having curly hair or straight hair.