Question

The ability to taste the compound PTC is controlled by a dominant allele, T. Individuals homozygous for the recessive allele, t, are unable to taste PTC. In a class of 100 students; 64 were able to taste the compound, 36 were unable to taste the compound. What is the frequency of the T allele in the population?

Answer 1

The frequency of the T allele in the population is 0.4.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the frequency of the T allele in the population, we need to calculate the allele frequencies. Based on the given information, there are 64 students who can taste the compound (TT or Tt genotype) and 36 students who cannot taste it (tt genotype). Since the ability to taste PTC is controlled by a dominant allele (T), we can assume that all the students who can taste it (64) are either TT or Tt.

To calculate the allele frequencies, we can assume that the frequency of the recessive allele (t) is equal to the frequency of the tt genotype. Therefore, the frequency of the tt genotype is 36/100 = 0.36. Since the frequency of the tt genotype is q², we can solve for q: q = √0.36 ≈ 0.6.

Since p + q = 1, the frequency of the T allele (p) can be calculated as follows: p = 1 - q = 1 - 0.6 = 0.4. Therefore, the frequency of the T allele in the population is 0.4.