alleryStart learning →What defines a reciprocal cross?
AThe same two parents are crossed again a season later
BThe dominant parent is crossed back to its own offspring
CTwo hybrids of the same genotype are crossed together
DThe male and female traits are swapped between two crosses
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. The male and female traits are swapped between two crosses
1. A reciprocal cross is a paired cross run in both directions.
2. Whatever trait the male carried in the first cross is carried by the female in the second.
3. Mendel obtained about the same ratio either way for his pea characteristics.
4. Crossing a parent back to its offspring is a backcross, a different procedure.
5. Repeating the same cross a season later changes nothing about which parent carries which trait.
_Source: OpenStax Biology (1st ed., CC BY 4.0), Ch 12 "Mendel's Experiments and Heredity", section 12.1 Mendel's Experiments and the Laws of Probability_
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