One in every 685 children born in the chicoutimi area of quebec province has tyrosinemia. It is cause by having two copies of the receissive allele. Under the assumptions of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, calculate the value of q required to produce this proportion of afflicted newborns

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To calculate the value of q, we need to apply the Hardy-Weinberg principle, which describes the genetic equilibrium in a population. The principle states that in the absence of other factors, the frequencies of alleles in a population will remain constant from generation to generation.

In this case, we are given that one in every 685 children born in the Chicoutimi area of Quebec has tyrosinemia, which is caused by having two copies of the recessive allele. Let's assign the following variables:
- p: frequency of the dominant allele (A)
- q: frequency of the recessive allele (a)

From the given information, we can say that the proportion of individuals affected by tyrosinemia is q^2 (since having two copies of the recessive allele is required). So, q^2 = 1/685.

To find the value of q, we can take the square root of both sides of the equation:
√(q^2) = √(1/685)
q = 1/√(685)

Using a calculator, we can compute the value of q to be approximately 0.0251 (rounded to four decimal places).

Therefore, the value of q required to produce this proportion of afflicted newborns is approximately 0.0251.