Final answer:
The offspring will express the dominant trait if at least one W (dominant) allele is present from either parent. If both parents provide a recessive w allele, the offspring will express the recessive trait. Thus, Ww combinations exhibit the dominant trait, while ww results in the recessive trait.
Step-by-step explanation:
The allele pairings involving W (dominant) and w (recessive) from parents will result in the dominant trait being expressed in the offspring, regardless of which parent provides the W or w allele. Whether the father provides W and the mother w, or vice versa, the result is a heterozygous Ww combination, expressing the dominant trait. However, if both parents contribute the recessive allele w, the offspring will express the recessive trait. This is because in the absence of a dominant allele, the recessive trait is exhibited in the phenotype.
In Mendelian genetics, dominance refers to the ability of one allele to express its trait over another when both are present in a single organism. Heterozygous organisms (Ww) display the dominant phenotype, while only homozygous recessive organisms (ww) will show the recessive phenotype. Therefore, when predicting offspring outcomes, the presence of at least one dominant allele (W) in the genetic pairing will always result in the exhibition of the dominant trait.
In the given pairings, the offspring will exhibit the dominant trait in the following combinations: W from the father and w from the mother, W from the mother and w from the father. And the offspring will exhibit the recessive trait in the following combinations: w from the mother and w from the father, w from the father and W from the mother