Question

Considering that differences in control values represent year-to-year differences in greenhouse conditions, calculate (in mm) the average response to selection over the three-year period.

Answer 1

The question pertains to confirming the observed phenotypic ratios in a garden pea F₂ generation against the expected Mendelian 9:3:3:1 ratio and considering the potential effects of small sample sizes and environmental factors on the experiment.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question revolves around the concept of phenotypic ratios following Mendelian laws. When analyzing the garden pea F₂ generation, consisting of different plant phenotypes, the observed numbers need to be compared to the expected 9:3:3:1 ratio which Mendel described for two-trait inheritance where each trait is controlled by a different gene with two alleles and all alleles segregate independently of each other.

To assess whether the observed ratios are close to the expected, one can use the chi-square test. If fewer plants were used, the results might deviate from the expectation due to a smaller sample size leading to larger random deviations. Environmental factors, like strong wind, could also introduce experimental errors and affect the phenotypic distribution.