Exploring the Exciting World of Genetics with Hardy-Weinberg Principle

Have you ever wondered how genetic variation is maintained in a population?

Let's dive into the fascinating realm of genetics and explore the answers together!

Understanding the Hardy-Weinberg Principle

The Hardy-Weinberg principle is a fundamental concept in population genetics that describes the expected frequencies of genotypes in a population under certain conditions of genetic equilibrium. According to this principle, in the absence of evolutionary forces such as natural selection, genetic drift, gene flow, and mutation, the allele frequencies in a population will remain constant from generation to generation.

One of the key equations derived from the Hardy-Weinberg principle is:

p^2 + 2pq + q^2 = 1

Let's break down the equation:

• p represents the frequency of one allele (e.g., dominant allele),
• q represents the frequency of the other allele (e.g., recessive allele),
• p^2 represents the frequency of the homozygous dominant genotype,
• 2pq represents the frequency of the heterozygous genotype, and
• q^2 represents the frequency of the homozygous recessive genotype.

Now, let's apply this principle to the given question:

If p^2 = 0.49, what is the value of q?

Given that p + q = 1, we can calculate the value of q as follows:

p = √0.49 = 0.7

q = 1 - p = 1 - 0.7 = 0.3

Therefore, the value of q is 0.3.