When Gregor Mendel discovered inherited traits, one trait he looked at was the height of bean plants. The offspring of two tall bean plants was likely to be tall itself.

Question

Robert tries to reproduce Mendel's experiment, but he finds no relationship between the heights of the plants he grows and the heights of their parent plants.

Which of the following factors probably affected Robert's results?
A.
the shape and size of the bean plants' leaves
B.
the materials the plants' pots were made of
C.
the amount of water and sunlight each plant received
D.
the type of bean plant

Answer 1

C. the amount of water and sunlight each plant received

This factor, along with soil nutrients, can significantly affect plant growth and height. If Robert's plants did not receive consistent care in terms of water and sunlight, it might obscure any genetic relationships regarding height that he was trying to observe.