What occurs to allele frequencies when a population is at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

When considering Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, we evaluate what happens to allele frequencies across generations under ideal conditions.
Option 1: 'The allele frequencies will remain constant over generations.' This statement is correct in the HW model because, in the absence of evolutionary forces (selection, mutation, migration, genetic drift in a large population, and non-random mating), allele frequencies do not change from generation to generation.
Option 2: 'The frequency of the dominant allele will increase while the frequency of the recessive allele will decrease.' Under HW assumptions, there is no inherent directional change in allele frequencies toward the dominant or recessive allele; both alleles are maintained at constant frequencies determined by the initial conditions, so this is incorrect.
Option 3: 'New alleles will enter the gene pool through genetic drift.' Genetic drift is a stochastic process that can change allele frequencies in small populations, but in HW equilibrium, the population is assumed large and isolated with no new alleles entering by drift or migration. Hence this statement misattributes the mechanism and is false in this context.
Option 4: 'The frequency of the recessive allele will increase while the frequency of the dominant allele will decrease.' This describes a biased shift in allele frequencies contrary to HW equilibrium, where no such bias toward either allele occurs without evolutionary forces, so it is not correct.

AGRI10051_2025_SM2 Supplementary or Special Exam: Genetics for Agriculture (AGRI10051_2025_SM2)- Requires Respondus LockDown Browser

What occurs to allele frequencies when a population is at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium?

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What occurs to allele frequencies when a population is at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium?

You are researching a population of 100 cows, where 91 of them are grey and 9 are black. You know that the black colour is a recessive trait for this type of cows. Using the Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium equation (p2+ 2pq + q2 = 1), what number would be heterozygous?

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