Final answer:
Mendel's law of independent assortment, which states that the separation of alleles for one trait does not affect the separation of alleles for another trait, is best exemplified by option C.
Step-by-step explanation:
Mendel's law of independent assortment is C) the separation of one trait does not influence the separation of another trait.
Mendel's law of independent assortment states that when gametes form during meiosis, the alleles of one gene segregate into gametes independently of the alleles for other genes. This means that the inheritance of one trait is not affected by the inheritance of another. Mendel discovered this principle after observing the inheritance patterns of multiple traits in pea plants. For example, when crossing pea plants that differed in two characteristics, such as seed color and seed shape, the resulting offspring had combinations of traits that were not always the same as those of either parent, demonstrating that each trait was inherited separately.
Gregor Mendel, the father of genetics, discovered two important laws - the law of segregation and the law of independent assortment. According to Mendel's law of segregation, different alleles are separated into different gametes or sex cells. This means that each parent contributes only one allele for each trait to their offspring. According to Mendel's law of independent assortment, the separation of one trait does not influence the separation of another trait, which means that traits are sorted randomly and are not linked to each other.