[Campbell Biology P.541] According to the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium principle, for a popula... | Practice Question

According to the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium principle, for a population not evolving at a locus with two alleles, what do p², 2pq, and q² represent?

  • A: Frequencies of dominant allele, recessive allele, and heterozygous genotype.
  • B: Frequencies of homozygous dominant, heterozygous, and homozygous recessive genotypes.
  • C: Frequencies of dominant phenotype, recessive phenotype, and codominant phenotype.
  • D: Rates of mutation, gene flow, and natural selection.

Explanation

The Hardy-Weinberg equation p² + 2pq + q² = 1 describes the expected genotype frequencies in a non-evolving population. Specifically, p² represents the frequency of the homozygous dominant genotype, q² represents the frequency of the homozygous recessive genotype, and 2pq represents the frequency of the heterozygous genotype.