Explain the law of segregation with an example.

The law of segregation states that the two alleles of a gene separate from each other during the formation of gametes, so each gamete carries only one allele for a particular trait.

For example, consider a monohybrid cross between two heterozygous tall pea plants (Tt × Tt). Each parent produces two types of gametes: one carrying the dominant allele (T) and the other carrying the recessive allele (t).

During fertilization, these gametes combine randomly to form offspring with genotypes TT, Tt, and tt. This results in a phenotypic ratio of 3 tall plants to 1 dwarf plant in the F2 generation.

This law explains how traits are inherited and why recessive traits can reappear in later generations.