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Question

Question
Which is the most likely explanation for a child exhibiting a heritable trait that neither parent exhibits?(1 point)
Responses

A mutation occurred, and the child exhibits a new trait due to the mutation.
A mutation occurred, and the child exhibits a new trait due to the mutation.

The parents have recessive alleles, and the child inherited a dominant allele.
The parents have recessive alleles, and the child inherited a dominant allele.

A grandparent exhibits the trait, and the child inherited it directly from that person.
A grandparent exhibits the trait, and the child inherited it directly from that person.

The trait is recessive, and the child inherited a recessive allele from each parent.
The trait is recessive, and the child inherited a recessive allele from each parent.
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Answer 1

The most likely explanation for a child exhibiting a heritable trait that neither parent exhibits is:

The trait is recessive, and the child inherited a recessive allele from each parent.

In this scenario, each parent could be a carrier of the recessive allele (i.e., they have one dominant allele that masks the recessive trait, so they do not exhibit it), but they can still pass on the recessive allele to their child, resulting in the child expressing the recessive trait.