Question

A species of fly has two alleles for the length of their legs. The allele for long

Answer 1

The answer is 0.43

To calculate p we will use one of two formulas of the Hardy-Weinberg principle:

p² + 2pq + q² = 1 and p

+ q = 1

where:

p - the frequency of the allele for long legs which is a dominant trait.

q - the frequency of the allele for short legs which is a recessive trait.

p² - the frequency of dominant homozygote (with long legs)

2pq - the frequency of heterozygote (with long legs)

q² - the frequency of recessive homozygote (with short legs)

So, 33 of 100 organisms have short legs. The frequency of recessive homozygote is represented by q²:

q² = 33/100 = 0.33

⇒ q = √0.33 = 0.57

Using the formula:

p + q = 1

p = 1 - q = 1 - 0.57 = 0.43

Therefore, p = 0.43