Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium Quiz

Hardy-Weinburg Equilibrium indicates that the frequency of alleles in a population will change over generations.

For a population to achieve Hardy-Weinburg Equilibrium, individuals must mate randomly without preference to genotype.

In Hardy-Weinburg Equilibrium, natural selection is allowed to act on the population.

The mathematical expression $P^2 + 2pq + q^2 = 1$ represents the genotype frequencies in a population at Hardy-Weinburg Equilibrium.

Gene flow occurs if neither individuals nor sperm/egg enter or exit a population.

Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium

What is 'p' in the Hardy-Weinberg equation?

A state of a population where the commonality of alleles and genotypes stay the same over generations.
Evolution is the change in allele frequency.
Populations in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium are not evolving.
The Hardy-Weinberg equation can be used to calculate the allele and genotype frequencies.
- p = frequency of allele A
- q = frequency of allele a
- p² = frequency of homozygous dominant genotype (AA)
- 2pq = frequency of heterozygous genotype (Aa)
- q² = frequency of homozygous recessive genotype (aa)
- p² + 2pq + q² = 1

No mutations: Genes are not duplicated or deleted.
Random mating: Organisms mate randomly.
No gene flow: Neither individuals (or sperm/egg) enter or exit the population. No one leaves or enters.
Very large population: No change in the population due to breeding. This means the population is large enough to not impact the allele frequencies of the group.
No natural selection: There is no preference for a particular genotype.