Final answer:
From a cross between a short haired guinea pig (hh) and a long haired guinea pig (Hh), 50% of the offspring will have long hair and 50% will have short hair, as determined by Punnett square predictions.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question involves a cross between two guinea pigs with differing hair length traits. In genetics, the inheritance of traits follows Mendel's laws and can be predicted using Punnett squares.
In this case, short hair in guinea pigs is a recessive trait (hh), while long hair is a dominant trait (Hh). Using a Punnett square, we cross a short haired guinea pig (hh) with a long haired guinea pig (Hh) to predict the offspring's phenotypes. The possible genotypes that result from this cross are Hh and hh.
Half the offspring (50%) will have the genotype Hh (long haired) because they received an H allele from one parent and an h allele from the other. The other half (50%) will have the genotype hh (short haired), as they received an h allele from each parent. Therefore, the offspring phenotypes would be:
- 50% long haired
- 50% short haired