Question 1: In a laboratory, a genetics student crossed Solanum tuberrosum plants with normal,

red flowers with plants expressing the white flowers, which she believed was a recessive trait. In
the f1 generation, all plant had red flowers. The following results were obtained in the f2
generation:
740 Red flower plants
260 White flower plants
The student tested the hypothesis that the white flower is inherited as a recessive trait using X2
analysis of the F2 data.
a) What ratio was hypothesized?
b) Did the X2 analysis support the hypothesis?
Solution:
a) Null hypothesis / Ho : F2 DATA ( 740: 260 ) fit Mendels 3:1 monohybrid ratio
b) The initial step in X2 analysis is to calculate the expected results (e) if the ratio is 3:1.
Then we can compute deviation (d) and the remaining numbers.
Phenotype

Expected
ratio

Observed
value (o)

Expected
value (e)

Deviation
(o-e)

Deviation2
(d2)

d2
e

Red

3/4

740

(1000)
=750

740-750
= -10

( -10 )
=100

100/750
=0.13

White

1/4

(1000)
=250

260-250
=10

( 10 )
=100

100/250
=0.40

260

Total : 1000

x 2 : 0.53

Degrees of freedom (df), 2-1=1

When df=1, x2= 0.53, from the x2 Table, p values are 0.2 < p < 0.50
Level of significant 0.05
P > 0.05
Therefore, null hypothesis (H0) is fail to reject the hypothesis. The results follow Mendels
principle.

Question 2: In a laboratory, a genetics student crossed Solanum tuberrosum plants with normal,
red flowers with plants expressing the white flowers, which she believed was a recessive trait. In

the f1 generation, all plant had red flowers. The following results were obtained in the f2
generation:
106 Red flower plants
44 White flower plants
The student tested the hypothesis that the white flower is inherited as a recessive trait using X2
analysis of the F2 data.
a)

What ratio was hypothesized?

b)

Did the X2 analysis support the hypothesis?

Solution:
Null hypothesis, H0 = F2 data (106:44) fit Mendels 3:1 monohybrid ratio.
Phenotype

Expected
Ratio

Coloured

Colourless

Observed
Value (o)

Expected
Value (e)

106

3
( 150 )
4

44

=112.5
1
( 150 )
4

Total

=37.5
150

Deviation
(o-e)

Deviation2
(d2)

d2
e

106-112.5
=-6.5

(-6.5)2
=42.25

42.25/112.5
=0.38

44-37.5
=6.5

(6.5)2
=42.25

42.25/37.5
=1.13

x2=1.51

Degrees of freedom (df), 2-1=1

When df=1, x2=1.51, from the x2 Table, p values are 0.2<p<0.05.
x2exp (1.51) < x2table (3.841)
Therefore, null hypothesis (H0) is fail to reject the hypothesis. The results follow Mendels
principle.

Discussion:
Based on these two questions, both of it are accepted to Mendels principle. Reexamination of
the chi-square formula and tables from question 1 and 2 reveals that each category of data
contributes to the total chi-square value, because chi-square is a summed value. Degree of
freedom is basically used as a count of independent categories. Based on table question 1, with
Mendels data, the total number of offspring is 1000, of which 740 red flowers. Because the other
phenotype is white flower, there must be 260 plants with white flowers (1000-260). Thus,
defining the size of one category conclusively revealed the size of the second
category/phenotype.
In this experiment, degrees of freedom equal number of categories minus 1. Thus, with two
phenotypic categories, there is only one degree of freedom for both questions above. Notice that
once we did the chi-square test for the 3:1 ratio and failed to reject hypothesis, no other statistical
tests are needed as Mendels data are consistent with 3:1 ratio.

Introduction:
A monohybrid cross is a mating between two individuals with different alleles at one genetic
locus of interest.The characters being studied in a monohybrid cross are governed by two or
multiple alleles for a single locus. A cross between 2 parents possessing a pair of contrasting
characters is known as monohybrid cross. To carry out such a cross, each parent is chosen to be
homozygous or true breeding for a given trait (locus). When a cross satisfies the conditions for a
monohybrid cross, it is usually detected by a characteristic distribution of second-generation (F2)
offspring that is sometimes called the monohybrid ratio.
Chi-square is a statistical test commonly used to compare observed data with data we would
expect to obtain according to a specific hypothesis. For example, if, according to Mendel's laws,
you expected 10 of 20 offspring from a cross to be male and the actual observed number was 8
males, then you might want to know about the "goodness to fit" between the observed and
expected. Were the deviations (differences between observed and expected) the result of chance,
or were they due to other factors. How much deviation can occur before you, the investigator,
must conclude that something other than chance is at work, causing the observed to differ from
the expected. The chi-square test is always testing what scientists call the null hypothesis, which
states that there is no significant difference between the expected and observed result.