Skip to main content
A-LevelBiologyInherited change9700/41 · May/June 2022 · Q78 Marks

(a) The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, usually has red eyes. A gene for eye colour has four alleles: red, apricot, honey and white. Define the terms gene and allele.

  1. (a)The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, usually has red eyes. A gene for eye colour has four alleles: red, apricot, honey and white. Define the terms gene and allele. gene allele[2]
  2. (b)• The allele for red eyes, CR, is dominant to the other three alleles. • The allele for apricot eyes, CA, is dominant to the allele for honey eyes, CH. • The allele for white eyes, CW, is recessive to the other three alleles. Construct a genetic diagram to show the genotypes, phenotypes and ratio of the offspring from a cross between a fruit fly with red eyes, CRCH, and a fruit fly with apricot eyes, CACW. parents phenotypes red eyes apricot eyes parents genotypes CRCH CACW gametes offspring genotypes offspring phenotypes ratio[3]
  3. (c)Describe how you would carry out a test cross and use it to determine the genotype of a red-eyed fruit fly.[3]

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2022). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

  1. [1] (a) gene length of DNA coding for a polypeptide ;
  2. [1] (a) allele alternative / different, form / version, of a gene;
  3. [3] (b) gametes (CR CH CA CW) offspring genotypes CRCA CRCW CHCA CHCW; offspring phenotypes red eyes (red eyes) apricot eyes honey eyes; ratio 2 : 1 : 1 ;
  4. [3] (c) 1 cross with, white-eyed fly / CWCW ; any two from: 2 if all red-eyed then CRCR ; 3 if (some red-eyed and) some apricot-eyed then CRCA; 4 if (some red-eyed and) some honey-eyed then CRCH; 5 if (some red-eyed and) some white-eyed then CRCW ;

Write your answer and get it marked

On Oracle Prep you can write or photograph your own answer and have it marked by AI against this mark scheme, with feedback on what you missed.

Sign up free →

About this question

Topic
Inherited change, A-Level Biology (syllabus 9700). Structured question, 8 marks.
Source
A-Level Biology, May/June 2022 Paper 4 Variant 1, question 7.

Questions and mark schemes are from past examination papers and remain the copyright of the exam board. How Oracle Prep builds its content

Related Biology questions

© 2026 Oracle Prep