Mendel’s Laws of Heredity

Who was Gregor Mendel?

Gregor Mendel was an Austrian monk who is often called the
"father of genetics" for his study of the inheritance of traits in
pea plants.
 Between 1856 and 1863 Mendel cultivated and tested some
28,000 pea plants.
 He was the first person to predict how traits are transferred
from one generation to the next.
 He studied only one trait at a time to control variables, analyzed data
mathematically.

Important Genetics Terminology

heredity - the passing on of characteristics from parents to offspring
genetics - the branch of biology that deals with heredity
traits - a genetically determined characteristic or condition
gametes - sex cells; a reproductive cell having the haploid (half the
normal) number of chromosomes
 female gamete (♀) - egg, haploid or n (1/2 the normal number of
chromosomes, 23 in humans)
 male gamete (♂) - sperm, haploid or n (1/2 the normal number of
chromosomes, 23 in humans)

fertilization - the uniting of ♀ and ♂ gametes

pollination - in anthophytes (flowering plants), the process of transfer of pollen

grains from the anther (♂) to the stigma (♀)
 Mendel's Monohybrid Crosses
What is a monohybrid cross?
It is a cross between two genetically identical individuals.
Mendel crossed:
purple flowered plant x white flowered plant original
parents or P1

he got:
all purple flowered plants first offspring or F1
(F stands for filial, son or
daughter)

next he crossed:
F1 (purple flowers) X F1 (purple flowers) F1

he got:
3 purple flowered plants: 1 white flowered plant second offspring or
F2

What are Mendel's four “Rules or Laws”?

The rule of unit factor - each organism has two factors for each of its traits
 We now know these factors are genes located on the
chromosomes.
 These different gene forms are called alleles.
 Alleles are located in different copies of a
chromosome; one from ♂ parent, one from ♀ parent.
The rule of dominance - only one trait was visible in
the F1 generation, the dominant trait
 The dominant trait is the visible or observable trait.
 The recessive trait is the hidden trait, masked by
the dominant trait.
The law of segregation - the two alleles for each
trait must separate when gametes are formed
 A parent passes on at random only one allele
for each trait to each offspring
The law of independent assortment - the alleles
for one trait behave independently of alleles for
other trait during gamete production
Biological Science
Mendel Worksheet Name________________________
Date ________________________
Time ________________________

1. Who was Gregor Mendel?

2. What were two factors responsible for Mendel’s success?



3. Why was it important for Mendel to count large numbers of plants?

4. What is heredity?

5. A trait is a genetically determined characteristic or condition. Describe one physical trait that you
probably inherited.

6. What is the branch of biology that deals with heredity?

7. What are gametes? What gamete do you produce?

8. Why are gametes described as being haploid?

9. What is the diploid number of chromosomes in human cells?

10. Garden pea plants reproduce s _ _ _ _ _ _ _. Both male and female gametes are in the same f _ _ _ _ _.
The male gamete is the p _ _ _ _ _ g _ _ _ _, whereas the female gamete is in the o _ _ _ _.

11. What is fertilization ?

12. What is pollination ?

13. What happens to the ovule after it is fertilized? (

14. Explain how Mendel cross-pollinated the pea plants.

15. What is a monohybrid cross?

16. What happened when Mendel crossed a purple flowered pea plant with a white flowered plant?

17. What happened when the purple flowered pea plants were allowed to self fertilize?

18. What are Mendel's four “Rules or Laws”? Briefly describe each rule or law.


19. Describe these terms:

gene –

chromosome –

allele -

dominant trait -

recessive trait -

20. Draw and label a homologous pair

of chromosomes showing the
alleles for purple and white
flowers.