Use your knowledge of Mendelian genetics to write a hypothesis that answers the lab questions, "what is the effect of the genes of the parental mice on the fur color of the offspring mice?" Be sure to use the "if ... then ... " format.

If the first generation exhibits a ratio of 3:1 in regard to gray fur, the allele for gray color is dominant over the allele of white color.

Explanation:

Hypothesis:

If the first generation of the offspring from heterozygous mice exhibits a ratio of 3:1 in regard to gray fur, the allele for gray color is dominant (G) over the allele of white color (w).

According to Mendel's theories, some alleles can be dominant over the others. In this scenario, gray fur color is dominant (G) over the white fur color (w). The dominant allele is always shown by a capital letter, while the recessive allele is shown by a low-case letter.

Therefore, if we are performing an experiment with heterozygous mice, we can expect the offspring to exhibit a 3:1 ratio, which means that 1/3 of the offspring would have a white fur color (recessive), while 3/1 will exhibit gray fur color (dominant).

G w (heterozygous male)

G GG Gw

w Gw ww

(heterozygous female)

GG: Gray

Gw: Gray

Gw: Gray

ww: White