Hardy - weingberg problem solving

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dentalstudent2021

could someone please tell me how to figure out if p2 or p is given and if q or q2 is given. I get confused between these. I do know p2/q2 is frequency of homozygotes and and p/q is allele frequency
Thanks!

an example :suppose a plant population consists of 84% plants with red flowers and 16% with white flowers. Assume the red allele (R) is dominant and the white allele (r) is recessive.
 
If the problem talks about phenotype (red flowers, white flowers, etc.) then it is p^2 or q^2.

For it to be p or q, the problem would have to say "the frequency of the (R) red allele is ____" or "the frequency of the (r) white allele is _______"

So in your case, q^2 = .16, q = .4, p=.6. Note: you can't declare that p^2 = .84 because red flowers includes homozygous red AND heterozygous (since red is dominant over white allele-wise), so p^2 + 2pq = .84, and q^2 = .16.
 
If the problem talks about phenotype (red flowers, white flowers, etc.) then it is p^2 or q^2.

For it to be p or q, the problem would have to say "the frequency of the (R) red allele is ____" or "the frequency of the (r) white allele is _______"

So in your case, q^2 = .16, q = .4, p=.6. Note: you can't declare that p^2 = .84 because red flowers includes homozygous red AND heterozygous (since red is dominant over white allele-wise), so p^2 + 2pq = .84, and q^2 = .16.
Thanks Captain!
 
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