Principles of Inheritance and Variation Question 216

216. A mother in a family of five daughters is expecting her sixth baby. The chance of its being a son is

(a) zero

(b) $25 %$

(c) $50 %$

(d) $100 %$

Show Answer

Answer : c

Hints & Solution

(c) Humans have 22 pairs of autosomes and 1 pair of sex chromosomes which are $XX$ in females and $XY$ in males. So, everytime the chances of son or daughter is $50-50 %$ depending upon which sex chromosome is contributed by father in sperm.