Question

Calculate the broad sense heritability for pumpkin weight. Round your answer to:

A) The nearest whole number
B) Two decimal places
C) The nearest percentage
D) Four significant figures

Answer 1

To calculate the broad sense heritability for pumpkin weight, you need information on the phenotypic variance, genetic variance, and environmental variance. The formula for broad sense heritability is VG/VP. You can round the broad sense heritability to the nearest whole number, two decimal places, the nearest percentage, or four significant figures.

Step-by-step explanation:

Calculating broad sense heritability involves estimating the proportion of variation in a trait that is due to genetic factors. It is commonly denoted as H2. To calculate H2, you need information on the phenotypic variance (VP), the genetic variance (VG), and the environmental variance (VE). The formula for broad sense heritability is H2 = VG / VP.

Here's an example:

1. Measure the pumpkin weight of a large number of individuals (phenotypic variance).
2. Identify individuals with different genetic backgrounds and breed them to create progeny with varying genetic compositions.
3. Measure the pumpkin weight of the progeny (genetic variance).
4. Calculate the phenotypic variance and genetic variance.
5. Divide genetic variance by phenotypic variance to get the broad sense heritability.

For rounding:

1. Round the broad sense heritability to the nearest whole number. Example: H2 = 0.678 rounds to 1.
2. Round the broad sense heritability to two decimal places. Example: H2 = 0.678 rounds to 0.68.
3. Convert the broad sense heritability to a percentage by multiplying by 100 and rounding to the nearest whole number. Example: H2 = 0.678 rounds to 68%.
4. Round the broad sense heritability to four significant figures. Example: H2 = 0.678 rounds to 0.6780.