(a) Why did Mendel choose garden pea for his experiments? Write two reasons.
(b) List two contrasting visible characters of garden pea Mendel used for his experiment.
(c) Explain in brief how Mendel interpreted his results to show that the traits may be dominant or recessive.

Explanation

(a) Reasons:
(i) Pea plant is small and easy to grow.
(ii) A large number of true breeding varieties of pea plant are available.
(iii) Short life cycle.
(iv) Both self and cross pollination can be made possible.
(b) Contrasting characters:
Round /Wrinkled seeds
Tall/Short plants
White/purple flowers
Green/yellow seeds
(c) When Mendel crossed two pea plants with a pair of contrasting characters only one character appeared in all the members of `F_(1)` progeny, the others remain hidden.
On selfing `F_(1)` the hidden characters reappeared in just 25% of the offsprings and the other 75% shared the characters expressed in `F_(1)`.
Mendel concluded that the character which expresses itself in `F_(1)` and in 75% of the individuals of `F_(2)` is dominating while the other is recessive.