Final answer:
A cross that involves just one trait, such as pod shape, is called a monohybrid cross. In a monohybrid cross examining pea pod texture, with inflated pods being dominant, a 3:1 ratio of dominant to recessive pod shapes would be expected in the offspring.
Step-by-step explanation:
The term for a cross that involves just one trait, such as pod shape, is called a monohybrid cross. This type of cross examines the inheritance of a single characteristic, and the resulting offspring are known as monohybrids. When Gregor Mendel conducted his experiments on pea plants, he used monohybrid crosses to study the inheritance of single traits like pod shape, where he observed patterns of dominant and recessive expression. Mendel found that in monohybrid crosses, traits followed a predictable 3:1 ratio in the F2 generation if one copy of the dominant allele was enough to express the trait over the recessive allele.
For example, considering the pea pod texture trait, which involved either constricted or inflated pods, Mendel discovered that the inflated pod trait was dominant. Using a Punnett Square approach to predict outcomes, if you obtained 650 inflated-pod plants in the F2 generation, you would expect approximately 217 constricted-pod plants given the 3:1 ratio of dominant to recessive phenotypes.