Different species can sometimes interbreed to produce hybrid offspring. For example, the breeding of a horse with a donkey produces a mule. However, these hybrids are usually sterile. A horse will produce gametes with 32 chromosomes, and a donkey will
produce gametes with 31 chromosomes, resulting in a mule with 63 chromosomes. Using your understanding of meiosis, propose a reason why mules are sterile.
What will be an ideal response?
Because the cells have an odd number of chromosomes, one of them will not be able to pair up with a homolog during meiosis. This prevents the proper formation of viable gametes.
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A __________ is a hybrid, with two nonidentical
alleles (Aa). Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).
Hypothetically, how could scientists lower Earth's temperature in order to combat global warming?
A) by moving ice from the Arctic to the tropical oceans B) by forcibly melting more glaciers and polar ice caps C) by reflecting more light from land masses D) by decreasing the reflectance of cities
Imagine that a very unusual animal species had the ability to make its own aromatic amino acids using a 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate (EPSP) synthase enzyme similar to that of plants. What would happen if this animal foraged in a field of glyphosate-resistant plants?
A. They would also become glyphosate-resistant B. They would no longer need to make their own aromatic amino acids C. No effect D. They would become sick from the glyphosate that was sprayed on the plants
A swimmer sees a large blue jellyfish nearby. Jellyfishes are known to sting, so the swimmer moves away. The swimmer did which of the following?
A) Used inductive reasoning B) Used deductive reasoning C) Constructed a theory D) Tested a hypothesis