You and a geneticist are looking at a mahogany-colored Ayrshire cow with a newly born red calf.?

Question

You wonder if it is male or female, and the geneticist says it is obvious from the color which sex the calf is.She explains that in Ayrshires the genotype AA is mahogany and aa is red, but the genotype Aa is mahogany in amles and red in females. What she is trying to tell you-that is, what sex is the calf? What are the possible genotypes of the calf's father?

Answer 1

The mother is mahogany, so she must be AA, because aa and Aa are red in females.

The calf is red, so it is either aa or a female Aa. Since the mother is AA, the calf is not aa. Therefore the calf is female and Aa.

The father has be Aa or aa to contribute the "a".