Question

35. A student hypothesizes that thick leg muscles are an inherited trait in dogs. The student collects data on several dogs, and the data show that dogs that live outdoors have thicker leg muscles than dogs that live indoors. What should the student conclude?

A. Dogs that inherit thick leg muscles may not survive indoors.
B. Dogs with thick leg muscles may require more exercise than dogs with thin leg muscles.
C. Inheritance alone may not account for thick leg muscles in dogs.
D. Inheritance of thick leg muscles may be associated with coat thickness in dogs.
E. The student’s data must have been incorrect because dogs cannot have different thickness in leg muscle due to different living conditions.

Answer 1

Answer:The correct answer is B - Inheritance alone may not account for thick leg muscles.

Answer 2

Answer:

C. Inheritance alone may not account for thick leg muscles in dogs.

Explanation:

As per given data, the presence of thick leg muscles is a genetic trait but is also affected by environmental factors. Since the outdoor dogs were shown to have thicker leg muscles than the indoor dogs, both genes and external factors might be determining factors for the thickness of leg muscles in dogs.  

Phenotype (thickness of leg muscles) = Gene x environmental factors.