Question

The individuals of this population mate randomly and never move (i.e., there is no migration into or out of the population), and mutation also does not occur. Each couple has two children and the parents die after having their second child, so the population size does not change. Answer the questions about this population after the parents have had both children and are dead. Which is true about the next generation of this population?

A. The genotypic frequencies will remain the same as they were in the parent population.
B. The genotypic frequencies will be double of what they were in the parent population.
C. The allele frequencies will be double what they were in the parent population.
D. The allele frequencies will remain the same as they were in the parent population.
E. Both genotypic and allele frequencies will remain the same as they were in the parent population.

Answer 1

D. The allele frequencies will remain the same as they were in the parent population.

Step-by-step explanation:

In population genetics, the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium predicts that genotype and allele frequencies will remain constant from one generation to the next. The Hardy-Weinberg principle has five major assumptions: random mating, no mutation, no gene flow, infinite population size, and no selection. In a population, genetic change can be measured as a change in genotype frequencies or allele frequencies, but a type of change does not necessarily imply a change in the other. In this case, the frequency of alleles in the pool of male and female gametes (sperm and eggs, respectively) that meet to make the next generation will be the same, but genotype frequencies change from one generation to the next.