Final answer:
The frequency of heterozygous individuals in the population is 0.0392, the frequency of individuals homozygous for the dominant allele is 0.9604, the expected frequency of affected individuals is 0.0004, and genetic drift is unlikely to have a significant influence on the allele frequencies.
Step-by-step explanation:
In a population in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the frequency of heterozygous individuals can be calculated using the equation 2pq, where p is the frequency of the dominant allele and q is the frequency of the recessive allele. In this case, since the recessive allele has a frequency of 0.02, the frequency of heterozygous individuals would be 2 * 0.98 * 0.02 = 0.0392.
The frequency of individuals homozygous for the dominant allele can be calculated using the equation p², where p is the frequency of the dominant allele. Since p + q = 1, the frequency of individuals homozygous for the dominant allele would be p² = (1 - 0.02)² = 0.9604.
The expected frequency of affected individuals can be calculated using the equation q², where q is the frequency of the recessive allele. In this case, the expected frequency of affected individuals would be 0.02² = 0.0004.
Genetic drift is one of the forces that can influence allele frequencies in a population. It is the random change in allele frequencies that occurs in small populations due to sampling error. In this case, since the population is assumed to be large and in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, genetic drift is unlikely to have a significant influence on the allele frequencies.