Class XII – NCERT – Biology Chapter 5

Principles of Inheritance and Variation

Exercise
Question 1:
Mention the advantages of selecting pea plant for experiment by Mendel.

Solution 1:
Mendel selected the pea plant (Pisum sativum) for its following advantages:
1. Pea is an annual plant with a short life cycle. This allows the results to be obtained in a
short period.
2. Pea shows seven pairs of characters with contrasting and easy to detect traits like tall
and short height, round and yellow seeds, etc.
3. Pea can be propagated by both self and cross pollination. This allowed Mendel to
develop pure lines as well as carry out various crosses between plants of contrasting
traits.
4. Pea plant gives a large number of seeds for each generation. Therefore it can give a
large amount of data that can be statistically more reliabl e.

Question 2:
Differentiate between the following-
a) Dominance and Recessive
b) Homozygous and Heterozygous
c) Monohybrid and Dihybrid.

Solution 2:
a) Dominance and Recessive

Dominance Recessive
1. Trait which suppresses the effect of other 1. Trait which is suppressed by the effect
trait. e.g., tallness suppresses dwarfness. of other trait. e.g., dwarfness is
suppressed by tallness.
2. Trait which will express itself even 2. Trait that will express itself only in the
when present along with the recessive absence of the dominant trait.
trait
3. Trait which will express itself in both 3. Trait which will express itself only in
homozygous and heterozygous condition the homozygous condition.

5. Principles of Inheritance and Variation

Class XII – NCERT – Biology Chapter 5
Principles of Inheritance and Variation

b) Homozygous and Heterozygous

Homozygous Heterozygous
1. Genotype comprising of similar 1. Genotype comprising dissimilar
alleles for a trait. e.g., TT (for tall) or alleles for a trait. e.g.Tt
tt (for short)
2. The individual could be either 2. The individual will usually be
dominant or recessive. e.g: dominant or incompletely dominant
Individuals with TT genotype will be but never recessive
tall plants where as individuals with tt
genotype will be all short plants.

3. The individuals will produce only one 3. The individual will produce two
kind of gametes. e.g., either T or t types of gametes. e.g., Both T and t
gametes.
4. Homozygous individuals on selfing 4. Heterozygous individuals are hybrids
form pure lines or the true breeding and their progeny will not be exactly
individuals, i.e., those that produce identical to the parents and will exhibit
progeny exactly identical to the parents different phenotypes.

c) Monohybrid and Dihybrid

Monohybrid Dihybrid
1. Monohybrid is an individual that is Dihybrid is an individual that is the
the result of crossing parents with results of crossing parents with
alternate traits for only one character, alternate traits for two characters,
like height. e.g., Tt ( monohybrid for like seed colour and seed shape. e.g.
plant height) RrYy (dihybrid for seed colour and
seed shape).
2. Monohybrid cross is a cross between Dihybrid cross is a cross between
two parents homozygous for contrasting two parents that are homozygous for
traits of the only one character. e.g., contrasting traits of two different
cross between tall (TT) and short (tt) characters, like seed shape and seed
colour. e.g. ,a cross between RRYY
(round and yellow seeds) and
rryy(wrinkled and green seeds)

3. Monohybrid cross is used to study the Dihybrid cross is used to study the
inheritance of a single character only inheritance of two different
characters.

5. Principles of Inheritance and Variation

Class XII – NCERT – Biology Chapter 5
Principles of Inheritance and Variation

Question 3:
A diploid organism is heterozygous for 4 loci, how many types of gametes can be produced?

Solution 3:
Loci are the places on the chromosome where genes lie. So, loci and genes can be considered
equivalent. If a diploid organism is heterozygous for 4 loci then it will have four contrasting
traits, Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd and during meiosis 2 n different gametes will be formed where n is the
number of loci. Therefore, 16 different kinds of gametes will be formed.

Question 4:
Explain the Law of Dominance using a monohybrid cross.

Solution 4:
Mendel’s Law of Dominance states that characters are controlled by discrete units that
occur in pairs, called as factors. In a dissimilar pair of factors, one factor dominates over
the other. Therefore, when two parents (P) of contrasting traits are crossed, the progeny
(F1) will express only one of the traits and not the other. The trait expressed in the progeny
will “dominate” over the trait and is called as the dominant trait whereas the alternate trait
is called the recessive trait. The recessive trait reappears in the next generation (F2) when
the F1 generation is selfed. This means that the recessive trait did not completely vanish
but its expression was suppressed by the presence of the dominant allele. It can be
explained as follows using a monohybrid cross. Monohybrid cross is a cross between two
parents homozygous for contrasting traits of the only one character.
e.g., cross between tall (TT) and short (tt)

5. Principles of Inheritance and Variation

Class XII – NCERT – Biology Chapter 5
Principles of Inheritance and Variation

This shows that the dominant trait expresses itself in both homozygous and heterozygous
condition whereas the recessive trait expresses itself only in the homozygous condition on the
absence of the dominant trait.

Question 5:
Define and design a test – cross?

Solution 5:
A cross between a plant with unknown genotype and the recessive parent is called as a test
cross.

5. Principles of Inheritance and Variation

Class XII – NCERT – Biology Chapter 5
Principles of Inheritance and Variation

A test cross is used to determine the genotype of the unknown plant (i.e whether the plant is
homozygous or heterozygous). If the progeny of the test cross show 1:1 ratio of Dominant:
Recessive, then the unknown plant is heterozygous. However if the progeny are all dominant,
then the unknown plant is homozygous.

Question 6:
Using a Punnett square, work out the distribution of phenotypic features in the first filial
generation after a cross between a homozygous female and a heterozygous male for a single
locus.

Solution 6:
In the case of coat colour of guinea pigs, when heterozygous male guinea pigs (Bb) with black
coat are crossed with homozygous female guinea pigs with white coat (bb), we can see that the
male produces two types of gametes B and b while female produces one kind of gamete b.
Through Punnett square we see genotypic and phenotypic ratio in F1 generation is same , i.e.,
1:1

5. Principles of Inheritance and Variation

Class XII – NCERT – Biology Chapter 5
Principles of Inheritance and Variation

Question 7:
When a cross in made between tall plants with yellow seeds (TtYy) and tall plant with green
seed (TtYy), what proportions of phenotype in the offspring could be expected to be
a) Tall and green.
b) Dwarf and green.

Solution 7:
When a cross in made between tall plants with yellow seeds (TtYy) and tall plant with green
seed (TtYy), the phenotypic proportion in the offspring could be expected are three tall and
green, one dwarf and green.

5. Principles of Inheritance and Variation

Class XII – NCERT – Biology Chapter 5
Principles of Inheritance and Variation

Question 8:
Two heterozygous parents are crossed. If the two loci are linked what would be the distribution
of phenotypic features in F1 generation for a dihybrid cross?

Solution 8:
When two genes are inherited together they are called linked genes and this phenomenon is
called linkage. In case two genes are linked then there will be no segregation of alleles and the
alleles will be inherited together functioning a single gene. If two genes are completely linked
then the F1 generation will show only parental characters in the phenotype and no
recombinants. In case of incomplete linkage there may exist few recombinants but the
proportion of parental phenotypes will be more.

5. Principles of Inheritance and Variation

Class XII – NCERT – Biology Chapter 5
Principles of Inheritance and Variation

Question 9:
Briefly mention the contribution of T.H. Morgan in genetics.

Solution 9:
T.H. Morgan contributed immensely to the field of genetics through his studies on the fruit fly,
Drosophila melanogaster. Some of his major contributions to the field of genetics are as
follows:
1. He experimentally proved the Chromosomal Theory of Inheritance. This theory states that
the genes are located on chromosomes and that chromosomes are inherited by daughter cells
2. He proved the existence of linked genes. Linked genes are genes located on the same
chromosome. The theory of linkage says that genes that are located on the same chromosome
are inherited together and are less likely to form recombinants.
3. He demonstrated that the distance between the genes in the chromosome affects their
recombination rate. The more closely two genes are linked together the more likely that they
will be inherited together. The more apart two genes are located in a chromosome the more
likely that they will form recombinants.

5. Principles of Inheritance and Variation

Class XII – NCERT – Biology Chapter 5
Principles of Inheritance and Variation

4. He demonstrated crossing over in chromosomes during meiosis.

5. He demonstrated the X-linked inheritance in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster

Due to his contribution many theories of genetics could be proved experimentally and for this
reason he is called as the “Father of Experimental Genetics”

Question 10:
What is pedigree analysis? Suggest how such an analysis, can be useful.

Solution 10:
A kind of genetic analysis by which inheritance of a particular gene is traced in the family of a
person is called as Pedigree Analysis. It is done by means of a pedigree chart which is a
scientific chart of ancestors drawn with the help of certain specific symbols to indicate male,
female, carrier, disease, etc.. Pedigree analysis helps in:
1. To analyse and predict if the gene is present in homozygous or heterozygous condition.
2. Analysis of the inheritance of the said gene over various generations of the same
family.
3. To understand if the specific genetic disorder is caused due to the dominant or the
recessive gene.
4. To analyse the origin of the said disease in the family and try to determine its cause.
5. To predict the possibility of inheritance of this gene in future generations and the
probability of the same.
6. To provide genetic counselling to the families with high risk of different genetic
diorders like haemophilia, sickle cell anaemia, etc.
By studying these charts genetic counsellors can help in preventing certain genetic
disorders like haemophilia, sickle cell anaemia in future generation of that family.

Question 11:
How is sex determined in human beings?

Solution 11:
Human beings show XY type of sex determination. In human being, sex chromosomes of
female is XX while those of male is XY. The female can produce gametes containing only X
chromosomes, whereas males can produce gametes containing either X or Y chromosomes.
When Y chromosome containing gamete of male fertilizes with either X containing gamete of

5. Principles of Inheritance and Variation

Class XII – NCERT – Biology Chapter 5
Principles of Inheritance and Variation

female, foetus will be a male. When X chromosome containing gamete of male fertilizes with
either of female gamete, foetus will be a female.

Question 12:
A child has blood group O. If the father has blood group A and mother blood group B, work
out the genotypes of the parents and the possible genotypes of the other offspring.

Solution 12:
Blood group in human is controlled by three kinds of alleles IA, IB and i. IA and IB are co-
dominant whereas I is recessive. I A codes for blood group A whereas IB codes for blood group
B. O blood group is coded by the i allele.
A person with blood group A can have two possible allele combinations- IA IA or IA i
A person with blood group B can also have two combinations I B IB or IB i
When both IA and IB are present then the blood group will be AB and when both of these are
absent then the blood group will be O (ii)
In the above case since the father and mother have dominant alleles and yet the child shows
the recessive phenotype, the dominant A and B alleles in the parent must be present in the
heterozygous condition. This is because if the alleles were present in homozygous condition in
any of the parent then the child would show dominant phenotype and not the recessive
phenotype

5. Principles of Inheritance and Variation

Class XII – NCERT – Biology Chapter 5
Principles of Inheritance and Variation

Therefore, we can see that in the above situation the other offspring could show A, B or AB
blood group.

Question 13:
Explain the following terms with example
a) Co-dominance
b) Incomplete dominance

Solution 13:
a) When both the contrasting alleles of a gene pair are equally expressed it is called as co-
dominance. E.g. human blood group- both A and B are equally dominant and when present
together exhibit the AB blood group instead of either A or B
b) Incomplete dominance is when a dominant allele does not completely mask the effects of
a recessive allele, and the organism’s resulting physical appearance shows a blending of
both alleles. It is also called semi-dominance or partial dominance. E.g. Flower colour in
snapdragon plant. Red flower colour (R) is incompletely dominant over the white(r). When
both alleles R and r are present together, R is unable to completely suppress r and therefore
the resulting phenotype is pink colour flower.

Question 14:
What is point mutation? Give one example.

Solution 14:
When mutation occurs in single base pair of DNA it is termed as point mutation. e.g., Sickle
cell anaemia- there is substitution of glutamic acid by valine in the sixth position of the beta
globulin chain of haemoglobin leading to formation of sickle shape RBCs instead of biconcave
RBCs

5. Principles of Inheritance and Variation

Class XII – NCERT – Biology Chapter 5
Principles of Inheritance and Variation

Question 15:
Who had proposed the chromosomal theory of inheritance?

Solution 15:
Sutton and Boveri in 1902 proposed the chromosomal theory of inheritance. This states that
chromosomes act as vehicles for the inheritance of genes.

Question 16:
Mention any two autosomal genetic disorders with their symptoms.

Solution 16:
a) Sickle cell anaemia – When because of point mutation there is substitution of glutamic acid
by valine in the sixth position of the beta globulin chain of haemoglobin, the biconcave
shape of haemoglobin converts into sickle shape. This leads to decreased oxygen transport
in blood, weakness,
b) Phenylketonuria – Person affected from phenylketonuria lacks an enzyme which converts
amino acid and phenylalanine into tyrosine. Then this phenylalanine accumulates and
converts into phenyl pyruvic acid and other derivatives. This disease causes mental
retardation. Due to their poor absorption in kidney they are excreted in the urine.

5. Principles of Inheritance and Variation