A study found that children with light-coloured eyes are likely to have parents with light-coloured eyes. On this basis, can we say anything about whether the light eye colour trait is dominant or recessive? Why or why not?

Explanation

Just on the basis of the statement that children with light-coloured eyes are likely to have parents with light-coloured eyes, we cannot say whether the light eye colour trait is dominant or recessive. This is because two copies of a trait (say eye colour) are inheritcd from both parents (one father the other from mother) and unless we know the nature of the two eye-colour traits, we cannot tell which is dominant and which is recessive. Recessive traits appear only when both the parents contriboute recessive genes. So, from the statement given here we can only presume that both the parents are contributing recessive genes.