Question

genetic research quick check
in mice, the gene for tail length has two alleles. a long tail is dominant to a short tail. if a long - tailed mouse that is heterozygous mates with a short - tailed mouse, what are the chances of having offspring with short tails? (1 point)
25%
75%
50%
100%

Explanation:

Step1: Determine the genotypes

Let \( T \) represent the dominant allele (long tail) and \( t \) represent the recessive allele (short tail). The heterozygous long - tailed mouse has the genotype \( Tt \), and the short - tailed mouse has the genotype \( tt \).

Step2: Set up the Punnett square

The possible gametes for the \( Tt \) mouse are \( T \) and \( t \), and for the \( tt \) mouse are \( t \) and \( t \).
The Punnett square is:

	\( t \)	\( t \)
\( t \)	\( tt \)	\( tt \)

Step3: Calculate the probability

Out of the 4 possible offspring genotypes (\( Tt, Tt, tt, tt \)), 2 are \( tt \) (short - tailed). The probability is \( \frac{2}{4}=\frac{1}{2} = 50\%\)

Answer:

50%