Final answer:
The value of q² for Tay-Sachs disease affecting 1 in 3,600 Ashkenazi births is c) 1 in 3,600, because it corresponds to the frequency of the autosomal recessive genetic disorder in this population.
Step-by-step explanation:
The value of q2 for Tay-Sachs disease affecting 1 in 3,600 Ashkenazi births is c) 1 in 3,600.
Tay-Sachs disease is an autosomal recessive disorder, which means that a child must inherit two copies of the recessive gene (one from each parent) to be affected. The frequency of homozygous recessive individuals in a population is represented by q2 in the Hardy-Weinberg equation. Since Tay-Sachs affects about 1 in 3,600 births, this is the frequency of homozygous recessive individuals, which directly corresponds to the value of q2.
Therefore, when asked about the value of q2 in the context of this disease's prevalence, the correct answer is the prevalence rate itself, which is 1 in 3,600.