If Mendel had considered eighth trait in pea, which law might have failed?

Options

A. Law of segregation
B. Law of purity of gametes
C. Law of independent assortment
D. law of dominance

Explanation

To determine which law might have failed if Mendel had considered an eighth trait in pea plants, we need to analyze Mendel's existing laws and how they relate to the number of traits he studied.

### Step-by-Step Solution:

1. **Identify Mendel's Seven Traits**: Mendel studied seven traits in pea plants (Pisum sativum), which include flower color, flower position, stem length, seed shape, seed color, pod shape, and pod color.

2. **Understand the Laws of Inheritance**: Mendel formulated several laws based on his experiments:
- **Law of Segregation**: Each individual has two alleles for each trait, and these alleles segregate during gamete formation.
- **Law of Independent Assortment**: Genes for different traits assort independently of one another during gamete formation.
- **Law of Dominance**: In a heterozygote, one allele may conceal the presence of another.
- **Law of Purity of Gametes**: Gametes carry only one allele for each trait.

3. **Consider the Implications of an Eighth Trait**: If Mendel had considered an eighth trait, it would imply that there could be more genes involved in the inheritance patterns.

4. **Analyze the Law of Independent Assortment**: This law states that the alleles of different genes assort independently during gamete formation. However, if there were more traits, it is possible that some of these traits could be linked (i.e., located on the same chromosome).

5. **Conclusion**: If an eighth trait were introduced and it was linked with one of the existing traits, the law of independent assortment would fail. This is because linked genes do not assort independently; they tend to be inherited together.

### Final Answer:
The law that might have failed if Mendel had considered an eighth trait in pea plants is the **Law of Independent Assortment**.