Mendel decided to use the monastery gardens to conduct his experiments. He knew that he had to have a plant that had traits that he could easily observe. He also needed a plant that could be grown in large numbers. He decided to use the common pea plant. Mendel spent an entire year breeding plants before he began his experiments.

Why do you think Mendel spent so much time observing plants and their offspring before he began experimenting with them?

Why do you think Mendel spent so much time observing plants and their offspring before he began experimenting with them?

1 answer

Mendel likely spent a lot of time observing plants and their offspring before beginning his experiments in order to familiarize himself with the traits and characteristics of the pea plants he was working with. This allowed him to establish a baseline understanding of how the plants reproduced and how traits were passed down from generation to generation. By observing and breeding plants for a year before conducting experiments, Mendel was able to ensure that he had a thorough understanding of the plants he was working with, which would ultimately help him design and interpret his experiments more effectively.