Final answer:
The frequency of the wild-type (nonmutant) allele for the enzyme glucocerebrosidase can be calculated using the Hardy-Weinberg equation. Assuming the population is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, we can use the frequencies of the homozygous recessive individuals (aa) to determine the values of p and q. The value of q can be obtained by taking the square root of the frequency of aa individuals (0.04), while the value of p can be obtained by subtracting q from 1.
Step-by-step explanation:
The frequency of the wild-type (nonmutant) allele for the enzyme glucocerebrosidase can be calculated using the Hardy-Weinberg equation. The equation is p² + 2pq + q² = 1, where p represents the frequency of the dominant allele and q represents the frequency of the recessive allele. Assuming the population is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, we can use the frequencies of the homozygous recessive individuals (aa) to determine the value of q.
Since the frequency of aa individuals is 0.04, which is equal to q², we can take the square root of 0.04 to get the value of q. So, q = 0.2.
Since p + q = 1, we can subtract the value of q (0.2) from 1 to get the value of p. So, p = 0.8.