Question

In a population that is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, 16% of the individuals show the recessive trait. What is the frequency of the dominant allele in the population?

Answer 1

0.6

Explanation:

Let's start with the basic Hardy-Weinberg equations first.
`p+q=1` and `p^2+2pq+q^2=1`
With "p" being the dominant allele and "q" being the recessive allele

We know that 16% (or 0.16) show the recessive trait. This means that the fraction of the population with the recessive trait, `q^2`, is 0.16

With the value for `q^2`, `q` can be calculated. What follows is that `q=0.4`

With this knowledge "p" can be calculated. `1-q=p`, which results in "p" being 0.6

This 0.6 is the frequency at which the dominant allele is present in the population