ASAP How does rolling different dice relate to crosses or traits that can be passed to different organisms

Question

General question don't need any references

1) How does rolling different dice relate to crosses or traits that can be passed to different organisms by the parental generation?

2)If there is a trait that statistically is “selected for” more in an organism, what could that mean about that trait?

Answer 1

Hi Gahij,

Question one broadly relates to the use of statistics in calculating the heritability of certain traits in genetics. Much the same way that we calculate the odds of rolling "snake-eyes" (two ones when rolling two dice) by multiplying the probability of each dice rolling as one independently (i.e. 1/6 * 1/6), we can also calculate the odds of an individual inheriting certain traits based on the genotypes of their parents. If both parents carry an autosomal recessive trait, for example, there is a 1/4 chance that their progeny will express this trait due to receiving one copy of each of the recessive trait's genotype from each parent (1/2 * 1/2).

Question two refers to the fact that certain traits may be more or less beneficial to an individual and this may influence the success by which a trait is propagated through generations within a population. Consider the example of a trait such as skin color in lizards which dictates their ability to "hide" from predators. An individual that receives a more camouflaged skin color trait is more likely to survive and continue to pass on its genes to the next generation. On the other hand, a lizard that has inherited a very bright or noticeable skin color is both less likely to survive and more likely to have offspring that do not survive predators. This is just one example of how certain traits can be "selected for" in a population.