Question

A father and mother are both carriers of the autosomal recessive condition known as albinism. they have one child, and a second child two years later. their first child was not albino. knowing this, you can say that the probability of the second child having albinism is _______________

a. 25%
b. 50%
c. dependent on the the genotype of the first child
d. 100%

Answer 1

The probability of the second child having albinism, given that both parents are carriers, remains at 25% regardless of the genotype of the first child, as each child's genetic makeup is an independent event.

Step-by-step explanation:

The probability of the second child having albinism is 25%. Albinism is an autosomal recessive condition, which means that a child must inherit two recessive alleles (one from each parent) in order to express the condition.

When both parents are carriers, there is a 25% chance that any given child will receive two recessive alleles and thus have albinism, a 50% chance that the child will be a carrier like the parents (with one recessive and one dominant allele), and a 25% chance that the child will inherit two dominant alleles and not even be a carrier.

The genotype of the first child does not alter the probability for the second child.

It's important to understand that each child is an independent event when it comes to genetic inheritance. Just because the first child did not have albinism does not influence the odds for the second child. For every single pregnancy, the odds remain the same, assuming that each parent is a carrier for the gene causing albinism.