Final answer:
When cross-breeding pea plants with violet flowers and white flowers, all F1 progeny exhibit violet flowers due to the dominance of the violet flower color. Reappearance of white flowers occurs in the F2 generation, showing a typical 3:1 phenotypic ratio in monohybrid crosses.
Step-by-step explanation:
In a Mendelian experiment where pea plants with violet flowers are bred with pea plants bearing white flowers, all of the F1 progeny would display violet flowers. This outcome is due to Mendel's discovery that some traits are dominant over others. In this case, the violet flower color is the dominant trait, whereas the white flower color trait is recessive. Thus, when crossing true-breeding violet-flowered plants with true-breeding white-flowered plants, we expect 100% of the F1 generation to exhibit the dominant violet flower color.
To further test this, Mendel allowed the F1 generation plants to self-pollinate, leading to the F2 generation. In the F2 generation, Mendel observed a phenotypic ratio of approximately three plants with violet flowers to one with white flowers, exemplifying a 3:1 ratio commonly seen in monohybrid crosses. The reappearance of white flowers in the F2 generation confirmed that the trait had not disappeared but was merely masked by the dominant violet flower color in the F1 generation.