GeneticsLesson 1 of 1 in the course Patterns of Inheritance

Mendel’s Pea-Plant Experiments: Variation, Crosses, and Inheritance

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Gregor Mendel’s careful experiments helped reveal that inherited traits do not simply blend together. This lesson introduces Mendel’s background, why his work mattered, and how his choice of traits helped him recognize patterns of inheritance.

Johann Gregor Mendel (1822–1884) was a teacher, scientist, and member of the Augustinian Abbey of St. Thomas in Brno, in what is now the Czech Republic. He taught subjects including physics, botany, and natural science. In 1856, he began a decade of research into inheritance, first exploring honeybees and plants before focusing on garden peas.

All flashcards

What is a model system?
An organism or system with useful characteristics for studying a biological phenomenon.
What is true-breeding?
Consistently producing offspring that resemble the parent for a particular trait.
How do continuous and discontinuous variation differ?
Continuous variation spans a range of forms; discontinuous variation has a few distinct forms.
What is a reciprocal cross?
A pair of crosses in which the male and female roles of the trait forms are switched.
How do dominant and recessive traits differ in Mendel’s interpretation?
A dominant trait is expressed in the F₁ hybrid; a recessive trait is latent there and may reappear later.

Quiz questions

  1. How did Mendel produce the F₂ generation in his pea-plant experiments?Answer: He allowed F₁ plants to self-fertilize and grew their seeds.
  2. When true-breeding violet-flowered peas were crossed with true-breeding white-flowered peas, what flower color did all F₁ plants show?Answer: Violet flowers
  3. What did Mendel find when he performed reciprocal crosses for a trait?Answer: The inheritance pattern was similar whichever parent supplied the pollen.
  4. What did the reappearance of white flowers in F₂ suggest about inheritance?Answer: The white trait had remained distinct rather than being blended away.
  5. In Mendel’s interpretation, what can be concluded from seeing a dominant trait?Answer: The organism may have two dominant versions or one dominant and one recessive version.

Based on Concepts of Biology by Samantha Fowler, Rebecca Roush, James Wise (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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