Question

Mendel was lucky in the choice of the material of his experiments, which of the following contributed to his success?

• A. He observed distinct inherited traits.
• B. He qualitatively analysed his date.
• C. He liked pea plants.
• D. He considered only one character at one time.

Answer 1

The correct option is D He considered only one character at one time.

Mendel studied the common garden pea plant, Pisum sativum because of some scientific reasons such as its easy cultivation, relatively short life cycle of 3 months, and the presence of discontinuous characteristics flower anatomy which allowed to control the self pollination of the plant and allowed cross-fertilization. Mendel applied the quantitative approach, the statistical analysis, to biological science which allowed him to interpret and analyse the pattern of inheritance on the basis of probabilities. Mendel chose seven pairs of contrasting traits, namely plant height, flower position, pod colour, pod shape, seed colour, seed shape and flower colour. He observed only two alternative forms of a trait and carried out hybridization experiments on each trait one by one. This allowed him to easily observe the pattern of inheritance and compare the results of experiments with different traits for the reliability of results. Thus, his approach to studying one trait at a time was the main reason for his success among the given choices. Thus, the correct answer is option D.