AP Biology

Hardy-Weinberg Practice Problems – ANSWER KEY

1. You have sampled a population in which you know that the percentage of the homozygous recessive genotype
(aa) is 36%. Using that 36%, calculate the following:
2 2
A. The frequency of the "aa" genotype (q ). q = 0.36 or 36%
B. The frequency of the "a" allele (q). q = 0.6 or 60 %
C. The frequency of the "A" allele (p). p = 0.4 or 40%
D. The frequencies of the genotypes "AA" (p2) and "Aa" (2pq) p2 = AA = 0.16 or 16% 2pq = Aa = .48 or 48%
b b
2. Sickle-cell anemia is an interesting genetic disease. Normal homozygous individuals (H H ) have normal blood
cells that are easily infected with the malaria parasite. Thus, many of these individuals become very ill from
the parasite and many die. Individuals homozygous for the sickle-cell trait (HSHS) have red blood cells that
readily collapse when deoxygenated. Although malaria cannot grow in these red blood cells, individuals often
die because of the genetic defect. However, individuals with the heterozygous condition (HBHS) have some
sickling of red blood cells, but generally not enough to cause mortality. In addition, malaria cannot survive well
within these "partially defective" red blood cells. Thus, heterozygotes tend to survive better than either of the
homozygous conditions. If 9% of an African population is born with a severe form of sickle-cell anemia (HSHS),
B S
what percentage of the population will be more resistant to malaria because they are heterozygous (H H ) for
B S
the sickle-cell gene? H H = 2pq = 0.42 or 42%

3. There are 100 students in a class. Ninety-six did well in the course whereas four blew it totally and received a
grade of F. Sorry. In the highly unlikely event that these traits are genetic rather than environmental, if these
traits involve dominant and recessive alleles, and if the four (4%) represent the frequency of the homozygous
recessive condition, please calculate the following:
A. The frequency of the recessive allele (q). q = 0.2 or 20%
B. The frequency of the dominant allele (p). p = 0.8 or 80%
C. The frequency of heterozygous individuals (2pq). 2pq = 0.32 or 32%

4. Within a population of butterflies, the color brown (B) is dominant over the color white (b). And, 40% of all
butterflies are white. Given this simple information, which is something that is very likely to be on an exam,
calculate the following:
A. The percentage of butterflies in the population that is heterozygous. 2pq = 0.47 or 47%
B. The frequency of homozygous dominant individuals. p2 = 0.137 or 13.7%

5. A rather large population of Biology teachers has 396 individuals with poor vision and 557 with good vision
individuals. Assume that poor vision is totally recessive. Please calculate the following:
A. The allele frequencies of each allele. p = 0.35 or 35% q = 0.65 or 65%
B. The expected genotype frequencies. p2 = 0.12 or 12% 2pq = .46 or 46% q2 = 0.42 or 42%
C. The number of heterozygous individuals that you would predict to be in this population. 0.46(953) = 438
D. Conditions happen to be really good this year for breeding and next year there are 1,245 young
"potential" Biology instructors. Assuming that all of the Hardy-Weinberg conditions are met, how many of
these would you expect to have poor vision and how many with good vision? 0.58(1245) = 722 good
vision and 0.42(1245) = 523 poor vision

6. A very large population of randomly-mating laboratory mice contains 35% white mice. White coloring is
caused by the recessive genotype, "aa". Calculate allelic and genotypic frequencies for this population.
q = 0.592 or 59.2% frequency of “a” allele
p = 0.408 or 40.8% frequency of “A” allele
p2 = AA = 0.166 or 16.6%
2pq = Aa = 0.483 or 48.3%
q2 = aa = 0.35 or 35%
7. The ability to taste PTC is due to a single dominate allele "T". You sampled 215 individuals in biology, and
determined that 150 could detect the bitter taste of PTC and 65 could not. Calculate allelic and genotypic
frequencies for this population.
65/215 = q2
q = 0.55 or 55%
p = 0.45 or 45%

q2 = tt = 0.30 or 30%
2pq = Tt = .495 or 49.5%
2
p = TT = 0.20 or 20%

Using the Hardy-Weinberg Equation to Interpret Data and Make Predictions

Is Evolution Occurring in a Soybean Population? One way to test whether evolution is occurring in a
population is to compare the observed genotype frequencies at a locus with those expected for a non-evolving
population based on the Hardy-Weinberg equation. In this exercise, you’ll test whether a soybean population
is evolving at a locus with two alleles, CG and CY, that affect chlorophyll production and hence leaf color.

How the Experiment Was Done Students planted soybean seeds and then counted the number of seedlings
of each genotype at Day 7 and again at Day 21. Seedlings of each genotype could be distinguished visually
because the CG and CY show incomplete dominance: CGCG seedlings have green leaves, CGCY seedlings have
green-yellow leaves, and CYCY seedlings have yellow leaves.

Data From the Experiment

Number of Seedlings
Time (Days) Green Green-Yellow Yellow Total
CGCG CGCY CYCY
7 49 111 56 216

21 47 106 20 173

Interpret the Data

1. Use the observed genotype frequencies from Day 7 data to calculate the frequencies of the CG allele (p)
and the CY allele (q). (Remember that the frequency of an allele in a gene pool is the number of copies of
that allele divided by the total number of copies of all alleles at that locus.)
q2 = 56/216 q = 0.51 p = 0.49

2. Next, use the Hardy-Weinberg equation (p2 + 2pq + q2 = 1) to calculate the expected frequencies of
genotypes CGCG, CGCY, and CYCY for a population in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
p2 = (0.49)2 = 0.24 2pq = 2 (0.49)(0.51) = 0.50 q2 = (0.51)2 = 0.26
G G G Y Y Y
CC CC CC
G G G Y Y Y
3. Calculate the observed frequencies of genotypes C C , C C , and C C at Day 7. (The observed frequency
of a genotype in a gene pool is the number of individuals with that genotype divided by the total number
of individuals. Compare these frequencies to the expected frequencies calculated in Step 2. Is the
seedling population in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium at Day 7, or is evolution occurring? Explain your
reasoning and identify which genotypes, if any, appear to be selected for or against.
p2 = 49/216 = 0.23 2pq = 111/216 = 0.49 q2 = 56/216 = 0.26
G G G Y
CC C C CYCY
The seedling population is in equilibrium at Day 7. The expected and observed genotypic frequencies
for each seedling are similar. At Day 7, there is no particular allele that is being selected for or against.

4. Calculate the observed frequencies of genotypes CGCG, CGCY, and CYCY at Day 21. Compare these
frequencies to the expected frequencies calculated in Step 2 and the observed frequencies at day 7. Is
 the seedling population in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium at Day 21, or is evolution occurring? Explain your
reasoning and identify which genotypes, if any, appear to be selected for or against.
2 2
p = 47/173 = 0.27 2pq = 106/173 = 0.61 q = 20/173 = 0.12
G G G Y
CC C C CYCY
The data suggests that the seedling population is evolving at Day 21. The allele frequencies have
Y Y G Y
changed from Day 7 to Day 21. The C C genotype is being selected against and the C C is being
selected for.

5. Homozygous CYCY individuals cannot produce chlorophyll. The ability to photosynthesize becomes more
critical as seedlings age and begin to exhaust the supply of food that was stored in the seed from which
they emerged. Develop a hypothesis that explains the data for Days 7 and 21. Based on this hypothesis,
G Y
predict how the frequencies of the C and C alleles will change beyond Day 21.
Y Y
The C C soybean plants do not produce chlorophyll. As the plant begins to grow and develop, it cannot
photosynthesize due to the lack of chlorophyll pigment. The plant is therefore unable to produce glucose for
energy. Initially the plant is relying on stored sugar for growth and develop, but between Day 7 and Day 21 the
plant begins to suffer from a lack of energy and as a result, the number of surviving plants each day decreases
over time.
Y
Beyond Day 21, one would expect to see further increase of the CG allele (selected for), and a decrease in the C
allele (selected against)