The color of the petals in a carnation is determined by an incomplete dominance pattern. The Punnett square is used to determine the genotypes of the offspring of a homozygous red (RR) and a homozygous white (rr) carnation. According to the Punnett square, what color of petals could result from the pairing of these plants? A. only red flowers B. only pink flowers C. white and red flowers D. red and pink flowers

Answer 1

In an incomplete dominance pattern, the phenotype of the heterozygous offspring is a mix of the phenotypes of the two homozygous parents. In this case, we have:

• Homozygous red carnation (RR)
• Homozygous white carnation (rr)

When these plants are crossed, the offspring will have the following genotypes:

• All offspring will be Rr (heterozygous).

In incomplete dominance, the R allele (red) and the r allele (white) combine to produce a third phenotype, which is a blend of the two colors. Thus, the Rr genotype will result in pink flowers.

Based on this information, the correct answer is B. only pink flowers.