Questions on Non-Mendelian Inheritance
20 multiple-choice questions about Non-Mendelian Inheritance, each with five alternatives, followed by the answers at the end.
Multiple-Choice Questions: Non-Mendelian Inheritance
1. What is Non-Mendelian inheritance?
A) Inheritance patterns that strictly follow Mendel’s laws
B) Inheritance patterns that do not follow Mendel’s laws
C) Traits inherited only from the mother
D) Traits inherited only from the father
E) Traits that blend in offspring
2. Which of the following is an example of incomplete dominance?
A) Blood type inheritance
B) Red and white flowers producing pink flowers
C) Mendel’s pea plant traits
D) Sex-linked traits
E) Mitochondrial inheritance
3. In incomplete dominance, the heterozygous phenotype is:
A) Identical to the dominant phenotype
B) Identical to the recessive phenotype
C) A blend of the two homozygous phenotypes
D) Completely different from both homozygous phenotypes
E) Always lethal
4. What is codominance?
A) When one allele completely masks another
B) When both alleles are fully expressed in the heterozygote
C) When alleles blend to form an intermediate phenotype
D) When traits are inherited from only one parent
E) When genes are linked
5. Which blood group system is an example of codominance?
A) ABO blood group
B) Rh factor
C) MN blood group
D) X-linked traits
E) Mitochondrial DNA
6. What does polygenic inheritance mean?
A) One gene controls one trait
B) Multiple genes control one trait
C) One gene controls multiple traits
D) Genes are inherited only from the father
E) Genes are inherited only from the mother
7. Which of the following traits is typically controlled by polygenic inheritance?
A) Eye color
B) Tongue rolling
C) Mendel’s pea plant flower color
D) Blood type
E) Sex determination
8. What is pleiotropy?
A) One gene affects multiple traits
B) Multiple genes affect one trait
C) One gene completely masks another
D) Genes located on sex chromosomes
E) Genes inherited only maternally
9. An example of pleiotropy is:
A) Sickle cell anemia
B) ABO blood types
C) Human height
D) Seed shape in peas
E) Tongue rolling
10. Which inheritance pattern involves traits located on the sex chromosomes?
A) Autosomal dominant
B) Autosomal recessive
C) Sex-linked inheritance
D) Polygenic inheritance
E) Codominance
11. Sex-linked traits are usually found on which chromosome?
A) Chromosome 1
B) Chromosome 21
C) X chromosome
D) Y chromosome
E) Mitochondrial chromosome
12. Which is a common example of a sex-linked recessive disorder?
A) Cystic fibrosis
B) Hemophilia
C) Sickle cell anemia
D) Huntington’s disease
E) Down syndrome
13. Mitochondrial inheritance is unique because:
A) Mitochondria have no DNA
B) Traits are inherited only from the mother
C) Traits are inherited only from the father
D) It follows Mendel’s laws
E) It involves sex chromosomes
14. Genomic imprinting involves:
A) Both alleles being equally expressed
B) One allele being silenced depending on the parent of origin
C) Blending of traits
D) Sex-linked inheritance
E) Polygenic inheritance
15. What is a key feature of epigenetics?
A) Permanent changes to DNA sequence
B) Reversible changes affecting gene expression without altering DNA sequence
C) Inheritance of mitochondrial genes
D) Mendelian segregation of alleles
E) Gene linkage
16. Which of these best describes a lethal allele?
A) An allele that causes death only in heterozygotes
B) An allele that causes death only in homozygotes
C) An allele that causes death in all offspring
D) An allele that is always dominant
E) An allele that blends with others
17. What inheritance pattern is shown by the ABO blood group system?
A) Incomplete dominance only
B) Codominance and multiple alleles
C) Sex-linked inheritance
D) Polygenic inheritance
E) Pleiotropy
18. Which of the following is NOT an example of Non-Mendelian inheritance?
A) Incomplete dominance
B) Codominance
C) Independent assortment
D) Polygenic inheritance
E) Mitochondrial inheritance
19. Which term describes when one gene’s expression affects another gene’s expression?
A) Linkage
B) Epistasis
C) Codominance
D) Pleiotropy
E) Polygenic inheritance
20. A trait controlled by many genes, each with a small effect, is called:
A) Mendelian trait
B) Polygenic trait
C) Sex-linked trait
D) Codominant trait
E) Lethal trait
- Questions on Punnett Squares
- Questions Mendel’s Second Law – Law of Independent Assortment
- Questions on Mendel’s First Law – Law of Segregation
Answer Key
1. B
2. B
3. C
4. B
5. A
6. B
7. A
8. A
9. A
10. C
11. C
12. B
13. B
14. B
15. B
16. B
17. B
18. C
19. B
20. B
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