Genetics – Mendel's Laws of Inheritance: NEET MCQs with Answers

15 free questions on Genetics – Mendel's Laws of Inheritance for NEET (UG), starting with previous-year NEET and AIPMT questions. Try each one, then tap Show answer for the answer and a short explanation.

Syllabus covered: Mendel's Laws of Inheritance:

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Question 1

Previous-year question
How many true-breeding pea plant varieties did Mendel select as pairs, which were similar except for one character with contrasting traits? [NEET 2020]
  1. 2
  2. 14
  3. 8
  4. 4
Show answer
Answer: (B) 14
Explanation: Mendel worked with seven pairs of contrasting characters, and each pair required two true-breeding varieties. Therefore he selected 14 true-breeding pea varieties in all.

Question 2

Previous-year question
Select the correct statement. [NEET 2018]
  1. Franklin Stahl coined the term 'linkage'
  2. The Punnett square was developed by a British scientist
  3. Transduction was discovered by S. Altman
  4. Spliceosomes take part in translation
Show answer
Answer: (B) The Punnett square was developed by a British scientist
Explanation: The Punnett square, the graphical device used to calculate the probability of all possible genotypes in a cross, was developed by the British geneticist Reginald C. Punnett. The term linkage was coined by T. H. Morgan, transduction was discovered by Zinder and Lederberg, and spliceosomes take part in RNA splicing.

Question 3

Previous-year question
Which one of the following is the period of Mendel's hybridisation experiments? [NEET 2017]
  1. 1840–1850
  2. 1857–1869
  3. 1870–1877
  4. 1856–1863
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Answer: (D) 1856–1863
Explanation: Mendel carried out his hybridisation experiments on the garden pea in the monastery garden at Brunn from 1856 to 1863, and presented the results in 1865.

Question 4

Previous-year question
Which character among the following was NOT considered by Mendel in his experiments on pea? [NEET 2017]
  1. Trichomes — glandular or non-glandular
  2. Seed — green or yellow
  3. Pod — inflated or constricted
  4. Stem — tall or dwarf
Show answer
Answer: (A) Trichomes — glandular or non-glandular
Explanation: Mendel's seven characters concerned stem height, flower position and colour, pod shape and colour, and seed shape and colour. The nature of trichomes was never among them.

Question 5

Previous-year question
Alleles are [AIPMT 2015]
  1. True breeding homozygotes
  2. Different molecular forms of the same gene
  3. Heterozygotes
  4. Different phenotypes
Show answer
Answer: (B) Different molecular forms of the same gene
Explanation: Alleles are alternative molecular forms of the same gene occupying the same locus on homologous chromosomes. They arise by mutation and produce contrasting expressions of the same character.

Question 6

Previous-year question
How many pairs of contrasting characters in pea plants were studied by Mendel in his experiments? [AIPMT 2015]
  1. Six
  2. Eight
  3. Seven
  4. Five
Show answer
Answer: (C) Seven
Explanation: Mendel selected seven pairs of contrasting traits — tall/dwarf stem, axial/terminal flowers, violet/white flowers, inflated/constricted pods, green/yellow pods, round/wrinkled seeds and yellow/green seeds.

Question 7

Previous-year question
In his classic experiments on pea plants, Mendel did NOT use [AIPMT 2015]
  1. Pod length
  2. Seed shape
  3. Flower position
  4. Seed colour
Show answer
Answer: (A) Pod length
Explanation: Mendel studied seven pairs of contrasting characters — stem height, flower colour, flower position, pod shape, pod colour, seed shape and seed colour. Pod length was not one of the characters he selected.
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Question 8

Previous-year question
Which contribute to the success of Mendel? [AIPMT 1988]
  1. Qualitative analysis of data
  2. Observation of distinct inherited traits
  3. His knowledge of Biology
  4. Consideration of one character at one time
Show answer
Answer: (D) Consideration of one character at one time
Explanation: A major reason for Mendel's success was that he considered one character at a time and analysed his results statistically over large numbers of plants. This allowed him to detect clear numerical ratios that earlier workers had missed.

Question 9

Previous-year question
First geneticist/father of genetics was [AIPMT 1991]
  1. de Vries
  2. Mendel
  3. Darwin
  4. Morgan
Show answer
Answer: (B) Mendel
Explanation: Gregor Johann Mendel is known as the Father of Genetics for his pioneering hybridisation experiments on garden pea, from which he deduced the fundamental laws of inheritance.

Question 10

Previous-year question
Which one of the following characters studied by Mendel in garden pea was found to be dominant? [AIPMT 2000]
  1. Green seed colour
  2. Terminal flower position
  3. Green pod colour
  4. Wrinkled seed
Show answer
Answer: (C) Green pod colour
Explanation: Green pod colour was dominant over yellow pod colour in Mendel's experiments. Green seed colour, terminal flower position and wrinkled seed were all recessive characters.

Question 11

Previous-year question
Which one of the following traits of garden pea studied by Mendel was a recessive feature? [AIPMT 2003]
  1. Green pod colour
  2. Round seed shape
  3. Axial flower position
  4. Green seed colour
Show answer
Answer: (D) Green seed colour
Explanation: Green seed colour was the recessive character in Mendel's pea experiments; yellow seed colour was dominant. Green pod colour, round seed shape and axial flower position were all dominant traits.

Question 12

Previous-year question
The genes controlling the seven pea characters studied by Mendel are now known to be located on how many different chromosomes? [AIPMT 2003]
  1. Five
  2. Four
  3. Seven
  4. Six
Show answer
Answer: (B) Four
Explanation: Later studies by S. Blixt showed that Mendel's seven selected characters lie on only four chromosomes of pea — two characters on chromosome 1, three on chromosome 4, and one each on chromosomes 5 and 7.

Question 13

Previous-year question
In his classic experiments on pea plants, Mendel did not use [AIPMT 2015]
  1. seed colour
  2. pod length
  3. seed shape
  4. flower position
Show answer
Answer: (B) pod length
Explanation: Pod length was not one of the characters used by Mendel. He chose seed colour, seed shape, flower colour, flower position, pod shape, pod colour and stem height.

Question 14

Previous-year question
A true breeding plant is [NEET 2016, Phase II]
  1. one that is able to breed on its own
  2. produced due to cross-pollination among unrelated plants
  3. near homozygous and produces offspring of its own kind
  4. always homozygous recessive in its genetic constitution
Show answer
Answer: (C) near homozygous and produces offspring of its own kind
Explanation: A true-breeding (pure) line is one that has undergone continuous self-pollination and is nearly homozygous for the character concerned. It therefore always produces offspring showing the same trait, e.g. TT for tall or tt for dwarf.

Question 15

Previous-year question
Among the following characters, which one was not considered by Mendel in his experiments on pea? [NEET 2017]
  1. Stem – Tall or Dwarf
  2. Trichomes – Glandular or Non-glandular
  3. Seed – Green or Yellow
  4. Pod – Inflated or Constricted
Show answer
Answer: (B) Trichomes – Glandular or Non-glandular
Explanation: Trichomes are epidermal outgrowths and this character was not among the seven pairs of contrasting characters selected by Mendel. He studied stem height, flower colour and position, pod shape and colour, and seed shape and colour.

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