AP Biology

Genetics Test - Essay Questions

Essay question # 1 is a long free-response question that should require about 20 minutes to answer.
Essay questions #2 – 4 are short-response questions that should require about 6 minutes each to
complete. Answers must be written out. Outline form is not acceptable. It is important that you read
each question completely before you begin to write.

1. Gregor Mendel, a nineteenth-century monk, is credited with the discovery of the laws of segregation
and independent assortment.
a. Describe the law of segregation and the law of independent assortment.
b. Discuss Mendel’s laws of segregation and independent assortment with respect to THREE of the
following:
• genes that are not linked,
• genes that are linked,
• sex-linkage,
• Down syndrome.
Address both laws in each discussion.

A. ________The law of segregation states that two alleles separate during gamete formation and

end up in different gametes, so each gamete gets one copy of the gene and this is selected

randomly. The law of independent assortment says that pairs of alleles segregate independently

of other alleles, so the allele a gamete gets for one gene does not affect the allele another gene

gets. They are the laws of heredity

B. Unlinked genes follow both the laws of segregation and of independent assortment. If genes are

not linked they seperate randomly via segregation law, and their assortment and placement is

not affected by other genes, so they are independent. Linked genes do not follow the law of

independent assortment. Genes that are linked have a recombination frequency of less than

50%, so we know that they are not separating randomly, and are instead often inherited in

tandem. The law of segregation still applies because alleles in linked genes still separate and

each gamete gets a copy of the gene. The law of segregation does not work for Down Syndrome.

Downs Syndrome means you have an extra copy of the 21st chromosome. This means that a

gamete got more than one copy of the gene, which the law of segregations does not allow for. It
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does follow the law of independent assortment, because the one chromosome being wrong

does not affect the others, and it is random chance that the mutation was passed on.

2. The pedigree below traces the inheritance of cystic fibrosis, a biochemical disorder. Affected individuals,
indicated here by the darkened circles and squares, are unable to metabolize a membrane protein which
allows movement of water leading to a very sticky mucus.
a. Describe the type of inheritance seen in this disorder.
b. Identify possible genotypes of Wilma, Daniel, and Christopher.

A. It is a autosomal recessive inheritance pattern. It is seen in both men and women where both

parents don’t have the disorder, so it isn’t sex linked. We know it is recessive, because the it

does not affect most individuals in the family tree, and parents with it often have children

without. if it was dominant it would be inherited much more often.

B. Wilma would have to be recessive (ff) because she is affected. Daniel has too be heterozygous

(Ff) because his father is ff so he would have inherited one of them but he is not affected,

therefore he has a dominant allele. Christopher could be either heterozygous (Ff) of

homozygous dominant (FF), his father must be Ff but we do not know the mothers genotype so

he could be either of those because we know he is not affected.

3. Fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) with a wild-type phenotype have gray bodies and red eyes.
Certain mutations can cause changes to these traits. Mutant flies may have a black body and/or
cinnabar eyes. To study the genetics of these traits, a researcher crossed a true-breeding wild-type
male fly (with gray body and red eyes) with a true-breeding female fly with a black body and
cinnabar eyes. All of the F1 progeny displayed a wild-type phenotype. Female flies from the F 1
generation were crossed with true-breeding male flies with black bodies and cinnabar eyes. The
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table below represents the predicted outcome and the data obtained from the cross. Explain the
difference between the expected data and the actual numbers observed.

Generation Phenotypes
Body Color Eye Color Number Predicted Number Observed
Gray Red 244 455
Black Cinnabar 244 432
Gray Cinnabar 244 42
Black Red 244 47

They expected that all phenotypes would be equally likely, because that is the outcome of the punnett

square for this cross. But it was much more likely for the offspring to have the same phenotype as one of

their parents. This is because the traits for body and eye color are linked and are most often inherited

together. They have about a 9% recombination frequency which makes them 9 map units apart. They

are very close which explains why the inherit together so much and rarely cross.

BONUS: As a genetic counselor you have researched a genetic disorder. Discuss a specific disorder’s

genetics and how you would proceed to develop a CURE for this disease.

I researched Cystic Fibrosis, It is caused by a mutated CFTR gene and getting 2 recessive copies of it. It
causes the CFTR protein to malfunction and it can’t remove mucus and this causes problems especially
in the lungs. I would look into gene therapy and develop a way to insert a healthy CFTR gene into a
person of into an embryo. This would stop the disorder and lead to proper lung function.