Modeling a Punnett Square
Science Connection
The Punnett square below is an area model that shows the possible results of crossing two pink snapdragons, each with one red gene R and one white gene W. Each parent snapdragon passes along only one gene for color to its offspring. Show how the square of a binomial can be used to model the Punnett square.
Solution
Each parent snapdragon has half red and half white genes. You can model the genetic makeup of each parent as . The genetic makeup of the offspring can be modeled by the product .
(Red) (Pink) (White)
25% of the offspring will be red, 50% will be pink, and 25% will be white.