Cats have 38 chromosomes, or 19 pairs. Long hair in cats is a recessive trait (s) while short hair is a dominant trait (S). A cat that is heterozygous for short hair (Ss) and a cat that is homozygous for long hair (ss) are a mated pair. There is a 50% chance of an offspring being heterozygous for short hair, and a 50% chance of an offspring being homozygous for long hair. They have a total of 11 offspring, all of which have long hair. Is this possible? Why or why not?(1 point)
Responses
Yes, the difference in number of chromosomes would allow this to happen.
Yes, the difference in number of chromosomes would allow this to happen.
No, the 50/50 probabilities mean that at least 50% of the offspring should be homozygous for long hair.
No, the 50/50 probabilities mean that at least 50% of the offspring should be homozygous for long hair.
No, with fewer chromosomes than humans, the probabilities would be different.
No, with fewer chromosomes than humans, the probabilities would be different.
Yes, the probability of any outcome is independent of prior outcomes
Yes, the probability of any outcome is independent of prior outcomes.
Although it might be surprising that all 11 offspring have long hair despite the expected 50/50 probability for short hair (Ss) or long hair (ss), it is important to recognize that the probability of each individual offspring having a particular trait is independent of the outcomes of the previous offspring. This situation can be compared to flipping a coin: just because you flip tails 10 times in a row does not mean the next flip is more likely to be heads; the probability remains 50/50 for each flip.
In this case, each kitten has a 50% chance of inheriting the short hair allele (S) and a 50% chance of inheriting the long hair allele (s) from the heterozygous parent, while they will always inherit the long hair allele (s) from the homozygous long hair parent. Therefore, the chance for each individual kitten to be Ss (short hair) or ss (long hair) is 50/50, just like the chance of flipping heads or tails on a coin.
Hence, while statistically unlikely, it is still possible that all 11 cats could end up with long hair (ss) due to the nature of probability and independent assortment of alleles during reproduction.