What is a Punnett square?

A Punnett square is a diagram used in genetics to predict the possible combinations of traits that offspring may inherit from their parents.

It was developed by Reginald Punnett and is commonly used to understand inheritance patterns during genetic crosses.

In a Punnett square, the alleles from one parent are written on the top and the alleles from the other parent are written on the side. By combining these alleles, possible genotypes and phenotypes of the offspring can be predicted.

For example, in a cross between two heterozygous tall plants (Tt × Tt), the Punnett square helps determine the chances of getting tall or short offspring.

Punnett squares are important tools in genetics because they simplify the study of heredity and probability of inherited traits.