Question

a population of 300 sparrows has 150 individuals with red beaks (rr), 60 individuals with brown beaks (rr), and 90 individuals with reddish - brown beaks (rr). what is the allele frequency of allele r in the population?

Explanation:

Step1: Calculate total alleles

The population has 300 sparrows, so the total number of alleles is \(2\times300 = 600\) (since each individual has 2 alleles).

Step2: Calculate number of r - alleles

Individuals with brown beaks (rr) have 2 r - alleles each and there are 150 of them, so they contribute \(2\times150=300\) r - alleles. Individuals with reddish - brown beaks (Rr) have 1 r - allele each and there are 90 of them, so they contribute 90 r - alleles. The total number of r - alleles is \(300 + 90=390\).

Step3: Calculate allele frequency of r

The allele frequency of r is \(\frac{390}{600}=0.65\).

Answer:

0.65