GENETIC INHERITANCE

Section A: Multiple Choice Questions

Circle the one most correct answer.
1 The two types of cells found in humans include gametes (sperm and eggs) and somatic cells
(the cells found in body tissues such as muscle, skin etc.).
The number of chromosomes in human gametes and somatic cells in that order are:
A 23, 46
B 23, 23
C 46, 46
D 69, 69
2 A child with down syndrome has the following karyotype:

The abnormal set of chromosomes are located in

A Set 2
B Set 8
C Set 21
D Set XX

3 In rabbits, the allele for long hair (h) is recessive to the allele for short hair (H). When a shorthaired female was mated with a long-haired male, the offspring consisted of five short-haired
and three long-haired rabbits. The genotypes of the parent rabbits must be:
A female (hh), male (HH)
B female (HH), male (hh)
C female (Hh), male (hh)
D female (Hh), male (HH)
4 When a cell undergoes meiosis, how many daughter cells are produced?
A 3
B 4
C 6
D 8
5 A strand of DNA has the base sequence CCTACTG. The complementary strand will have the
base sequence:
A GGATGAC
B AAGCAGT
C TTCGTCA
D CCTACTG.
6 John has genotype NN. His genotype would best be described as:
A homozygous recessive
B homozygous dominant
C heterozygous recessive
D heterozygous dominant
7 During one of Mendels experiments,
Generation I, true-breeding, long-stemmed pea plants were crossed with true-breeding,
short-stemmed pea plants.

In Generation II all the plants were long-stemmed.

When the Generation II plants were cross-pollinated among themselves, the percentage of
short-stemmed pea plants in Generation III was likely to be
A 100%
B 75%
C 50%
D 25%

8 The pedigree below shows Huntingtons Disease which has a dominant allele. Two of the
children exhibit the symptoms of the disease.

The number of carriers of Huntingdons disease in generation II are likely to be

A 1 male, 2 female
B 2 male
C 3 female
D none
9 The genotypes and phenotypes for the ABO blood grouping system are shown below:
Genotype
Phenotype
(Blood Group)

IA IA
A

IA IO
A

IA IB
AB

IB IB
B

IB IO
B

IO IO
O

A male with blood type A and a female with blood type O produce a child. The child:
A must have blood type A
B must have blood type O
C may have blood type A or O
D may have blood type B.
10 The basis of accurate DNA replication is:
A specific base pairing rules
B the enzyme DNA synthetise
C the double helix nature of the molecule
D equal proportions of adenine and thymine

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14Section B: Short Answer Questions

15 Write answers in the spaces provided
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1) State the complementary base pairing rule?
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19 2) Complete a complimentary DNA strand for this DNA sequence;
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ATT G C G C C ATG C C C G

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30 3) Draw a labelled diagram of the structure of a strand of DNA.
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35 4) In terms of chromosomes, explain why a sperm or an ovum (egg) cannot possibly produce a
new human on its own:
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38 5) Explain the relationship between DNA, genes and chromosomes:
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6) A brown animal is crossed with a white one. All the offspring are brown. What does this
suggest about the gene for brown colour in this organism?
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46 7) In the eye colour of vinegar flies, the trait for red eye colour (R) is dominant over the trait
for white eye colour (r).
(a) What colour are the eyes of a fly with the genotype Rr?
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(b) What are one or more possible combinations of alleles for eye colour in the zygote of a
white-eyed vinegar fly?
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8) Mendel discovered that in pea plants the green pea pod is dominant over the yellow pea pod.
a
Using G to represent the allele for green pods, and g to represent the allele for yellow
pods, write the genotypes for:
i
a homozygous plant with yellow pods: ____________________________
ii
a heterozygous plant with green pods: ____________________________
b

Complete the Punnett square to represent the cross of two plants heterozygous for pod
colour and state the resulting genotype and phenotype ratios.

53 Genotypic ratio:____________________________

54 Phenotypic ratio: ____________________________

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