Question

A trait has two alleles, and their frequencies are represented by p and q. If p = 0.42, what is q?

A. 0.65
B. 0.58
C. 0.42
D. 0.76

Answer 1

In Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, when p equals 0.42, q can be calculated by subtracting p from 1, giving us a value of 0.58 for q. (option B is the correct answer).

Step-by-step explanation:

Within the context of the Hardy-Weinberg principle, the allele frequencies in a population where there are only two alleles for a gene (A and a) will sum to 1. Therefore, if p represents the frequency of the dominant allele A and q represents the frequency of the recessive allele a, and we know that p = 0.42, we can calculate q by subtracting p from 1. Hence, q = 1 - p = 1 - 0.42 = 0.58. Thus, in this case, the correct value of q is 0.58.

If the frequency of one allele (p) is 0.42, the frequency of the other allele (q) is 0.58, ensuring that the sum of allele frequencies in the population remains 1. This relationship is fundamental to population genetics and understanding genetic variation.