If the biological mother and father of a child both have brown eyes and the child has blue eyes, what is the most likely explanation.

Question

If the biological mother and father of a child both have brown eyes and the child has blue eyes, what is the most likely explanation.

A. A grandparent exhibits the trait, and the child inherited it directly from that person.

B. A mutation occurred, and the child exhibits a new trait due to the mutation.

C. The trait is recessive, and the child inherited a recessive allele from each parent.

D. The parents have recessive alleles, and the child inherited a dominant allele.

Answer 1

C. The trait for blue eyes is recessive, meaning that both parents must carry a recessive allele for their child to have blue eyes. If both parents have brown eyes, it means they both have dominant alleles for brown eyes, but they can still carry recessive alleles for blue eyes. When they have a child, there is a 25% chance that the child will inherit two recessive alleles and have blue eyes. This is the most likely explanation for the child in this scenario having blue eyes.