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Who Was Gregor Mendel?

Gregor Mendel portrait with pea plants
Gregor Mendel, the father of genetics

Gregor Mendel was an Austrian monk and scientist who lived from 1822 to 1884. He is called the father of genetics because his experiments with pea plants revealed how traits are passed from parents to offspring.

Mendel worked in a monastery but had a deep interest in science. He spent years carefully breeding pea plants and recording his results. His work wasn't fully appreciated during his lifetime, but today we recognize his discoveries as the foundation of modern genetics.

Mendel's Pea Plant Experiments

Mendel's pea plant experiments diagram
Mendel's experiments with pea plant traits

Mendel chose pea plants for his experiments because they:

1

Clear Traits

Had easily distinguishable characteristics like flower color and seed shape

2

Fast Growth

Grew quickly, allowing many generations to be studied

3

Self-Pollinate

Could control which plants bred with which

Mendel cross-pollinated plants with different traits (like purple vs white flowers) and carefully counted the results in each generation. He discovered mathematical patterns in how traits appeared and disappeared.

Mendel's Laws of Inheritance

Dominant and recessive traits illustration
How dominant and recessive traits work

From his experiments, Mendel developed three important laws of inheritance:

Law of Dominance

Some traits (dominant) mask others (recessive) when both are present

Law of Segregation

Each parent passes only one copy of each trait to offspring

Law of Independent Assortment

Different traits are inherited independently of each other

These laws explain why you might have your mother's eye color but your father's hair texture. Each trait is inherited separately, and dominant traits will show up even if only one parent passes them on.

Genetics Quiz

Test your knowledge about Gregor Mendel and genetics with this quiz. Answer all 5 questions to see how much you've learned.

1. What type of plant did Gregor Mendel use for his experiments?
2. What is Mendel often called because of his discoveries?
3. What did Mendel call traits that seemed to disappear in one generation but reappear in later generations?
4. How many different traits of pea plants did Mendel study?
5. Which of these is NOT one of Mendel's Laws of Inheritance?

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are answers to common questions about Gregor Mendel and his work:

Science Facts About Genetics

Discover some amazing facts about genetics and inheritance:

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