Question

A population of birds is at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. A single gene controls the

length of the tail feather, and the allele for a long tail feather is dominant to the allele
that produces a short tail feather. The allele frequency of the dominant allele Tis
0.80, and the frequency of the recessive allele t is 0.20. What percentage of the
population has short tail feathers?
a) Four percent
b) 36 percent
c) 16 percent
d) 32 percent

Answer 1

To determine the percentage of the population with short tail feathers, we need to find the frequency of the recessive allele (t) and then calculate the percentage of individuals with the genotype tt.

Given:

Dominant allele (T) frequency = 0.80

Recessive allele (t) frequency = 0.20

In the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the sum of allele frequencies is always equal to 1.

-Now, let's calculate the percentage of individuals with the genotype tt:

Frequency of tt = (Frequency of t)^2

Frequency of tt = (0.20)^2

Frequency of tt = 0.04

To find the percentage, we multiply the frequency by 100:

Percentage of individuals with short tail feathers = Frequency of tt * 100

Percentage of individuals with short tail feathers = 0.04 * 100

Percentage of individuals with short tail feathers = 4 percent

The correct answer is option a) Four percent.