Final answer:
The calculation of the percentage of white alleles in the moth population results in approximately 53.33%. Since this is not an option and rounding to the nearest ten is acceptable, the closest provided answer would be 60%.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the percentage of white alleles in the moth population, we need to consider the total number of alleles present for moth color. Moths have two alleles for color since they are diploid organisms. If we assume the population is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and there are three phenotypes (black, grey, white), with white being the homozygous recessive, then calculating the allele frequency involves looking at the homozygous recessives (white moths) first to get the frequency of the recessive allele.
Given that there are 24 white moths, we assume that each white moth has two white alleles (being homozygous recessive), totaling 48 white alleles. To find the total number of alleles, we multiply the number of individuals by two (since each individual has two alleles for the gene in question).
Total alleles = (2 alleles per individual) x (9 black moths + 12 grey moths + 24 white moths) = (2 alleles per individual) x 45 moths = 90 alleles.
To find the percentage of white alleles, we divide the number of white alleles by the total alleles and multiply by 100:
Percentage of white alleles = (Number of white alleles / Total alleles) x 100 = (48 / 90) x 100 ≈ 53.33%.
However, since 53.33% is not one of the options provided and if rounding to the nearest ten is allowed, the closest option would be Option B: 60%.