When Mendel crossed tall and short pea plants, only tall plants appeared in the F1 generation. What does this…

Question

When Mendel crossed tall and short pea plants, only tall plants appeared in the F1 generation. What does this observation tell us about how the two parental traits interact?

Accepted Answer

## Model Answer This shows that the tall trait is **dominant** over the short trait — only one copy of the tall factor is enough to express tallness, masking the recessive short trait completely. *Source: Chapter 8, Section 8.2.2* --- ## Explanation Examiners expect the key terms **dominant** and **recessive** here. The F1 result (all tall, no medium) proves one trait completely masks the other — that is the definition of dominance. Avoid saying the short trait "disappeared"; it was inherited but not expressed.

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