Imagine that humans could be born with either pinkish or brownish fingernails, and that there is a different allele for each fingernail color. If your father had brownish fingernails, your mother had pinkish fingernails, and you were born with brownish fingernails, that means that
A) fingernail color is determined by your sex.
B) the allele for brownish fingernails is dominant.
C) the allele for pinkish fingernails is recessive.
D) the allele for brownish fingernails is recessive.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Since the father had brownish fingernails and the mother had pinkish fingernails, we can assume that they each carried one allele for brownish fingernails and one allele for pinkish fingernails. If the individual was born with brownish fingernails, that means they inherited the allele for brownish fingernails from both parents, which indicates that the allele for brownish fingernails is dominant over the allele for pinkish fingernails. The sex of the individual is not relevant in this scenario.

Imagine That Humans Could Be Born with Either Pinkish or Brownish