In a population of 600 moose, 30 percent of the individuals are homozygous for an allele and 45 percent are heterozygotes.How many copies of the allele are present in the population?
A) 180
B) 315
C) 450
D) 630
E) 900

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

In this population, 30% are homozygous for the allele, meaning they have two copies each, and 45% are heterozygotes, meaning they have one copy each. For 600 moose, 30% homozygous equals 180 moose (600 * 0.30), each contributing 2 alleles for a total of 360 alleles. 45% heterozygous equals 270 moose (600 * 0.45), each contributing 1 allele for a total of 270 alleles. Adding these together gives 360 + 270 = 630 alleles in the population.

In a Population of 600 Moose, 30 Percent of the Individuals