Population Genetics (Lab 8)
| Other Links for this Lab Activity |
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Link to the AP Biology Population Genetics Lab
Link to Lab
Bench Lab Simulation (account and password required, then follow the
links to lab bench)
Lab 8 Review PowerPoint (modified from pdf file posted by Glen Cochrane at Half Hollows High School) |
Some Key Review Concepts
Hardy-Weinberg Law of Genetic Equilibrium
In 1908 G. Hardy and W. Weinberg independently proposed that the frequency of alleles and genotypes in a population will remain constant from generation to generation if the population is stable and in genetic equilibrium. Five conditions are required in order for a population to remain at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium:
1. Large population
2. Random Mating
3. No Mutations
4. No
Natural Selection
5. No Immigration
Equations:
p + q = 1
p2 + 2pq + q2 = 1
p= dominate allele
q= recessive allele
Lab Design
The experiment in this laboratory is a test of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in a "mating population," represented by you and your classmates. Your instructor will assign each class member a genotype (AA, Aa, or aa). The initial allelic frequency of the population will be 0.5 A and 0.5 a. Your population will simulate several different conditions that might alter allelic frequency, and you will determine the allelic frequencies over several generations.
Analysis of Results
Combine data. In small lab groups as we usually have, we can easily observe the exception to Hardy-Weinberg and the change in allelic frequencies due our small population and genetic drift. Genetic drift is the change in a population's allelic frequencies due to random chance events. The founder effect and bottleneck effect are two situations in which specific instances of this phenomenon come into play.