Question

question 9 of 10
after examining his pea - plant data, which three conclusions did mendel reach?
a. recessive traits are masked by dominant traits.
b. a genes alleles must be inherited independently of each other.
c. during reproduction, some kind of factor is passed from parent to offspring.
d. traits acquired during an organisms lifetime are passed along to its offspring.

Explanation:

• Option A: Mendel's work showed that dominant traits mask recessive ones in heterozygous individuals (e.g., in pea plants, tall (dominant) masks short (recessive) in F1 generation).
• Option B: Mendel's law of segregation states that allele pairs separate (segregate) during gamete formation, meaning they are inherited independently of each other for a single gene (though independent assortment is for multiple genes, the idea of independent inheritance of alleles for a gene holds here).
• Option C: Mendel proposed that "factors" (now called genes) are passed from parents to offspring during reproduction, which was a key conclusion from his pea - plant experiments.
• Option D: This is Lamarck's theory of acquired characteristics, which is not supported by Mendel's work. Mendel's work focused on inherited genetic factors, not acquired traits.

Answer:

A. Recessive traits are masked by dominant traits.
B. A gene's alleles must be inherited independently of each other.
C. During reproduction, some kind of factor is passed from parent to offspring.