Final answer:
Mendel observed principles of inheritance by conducting experiments with true-breeding pea plants, recognizing that traits do not blend but are passed on distinctly, leading to his foundational Laws of Inheritance.
Step-by-step explanation:
Gregor Mendel, often referred to as the father of genetics, managed to see the principles of inheritance by conducting methodical and detailed experiments with pea plants. Mendel chose pea plants (Pisum sativum) because they were true-breeding and had distinct traits that exhibited discontinuous variation, unlike the continuous variation observed in human height, for example. This allowed him to observe the inheritance of specific traits without the blending that was commonly believed to occur at the time.
Mendel performed a series of hybridizations, mating two true-breeding plants with different traits and analyzing the patterns of inheritance in the first and second generations (F1 and F2 generations, respectively). He observed that traits from the parents did not blend but were passed on in a distinct manner. His experiments led to the articulation of three principles, which are now known as Mendel's Laws of Inheritance: the principle of segregation, the principle of dominance, and the principle of independent assortment. These principles laid the foundation for modern genetics, where we can use tools such as karyograms to visually inspect an individual’s chromosomal composition.