Manuel and Maria are heterozygous for wiggling their ears. They have a son named Mario, who cannot wiggle his ears. Manuel thinks this is not his son. Is it possible for Mario to be Manuel’s son? Explain with a Punnett Square.

Question

Manuel and Maria are heterozygous for wiggling their ears.  They have a son named Mario, who cannot wiggle his ears.  Manuel thinks this is not his son.  Is it possible for Mario to be Manuel’s son?  Explain with a Punnett Square.

brainzonly · Answer

The Punnett square is a diagram that is used to predict an outcome of a particular cross or breeding experiment. It is named after Reginald C. Punnett, who devised the approach. The diagram is used by biologists to determine the probability of an offspring having a particular genotype. The Punnett square is a tabular summary of possible combinations of maternal alleles with paternal alleles.

wintersuntime · Answer

i know that i just need help if it is possible that it is his son or not ??

brainzonly · Answer

@wintersuntime yes: a heterozygote is an individual having two different alleles of a particular gene or genes, and so giving rise to varying offspring. So maybe Manuel or Maria may not be able to waggle their ears, BUT it is technically still possible for Mario to be Manuel's son. This could have easily been discovered simply by looking at a dictionary or going to https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl

mathmate · Answer

@wintersuntime Do you know the meanings of the words heterozygous, dominant, recessive, and Punnett squares? If not, you can read up some related definitions and examples as a start. Knowing the answer without understanding how the answer was arrived will not help you with the next problem. Here's a good place to start, if you don't have your school notes: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/ocr_gateway_pre_2011/ourselves/7_who_am_i4.shtml