Two of the seven different pea traits examined by Mendel involved genes that we now know are linked. Knowing this, can you explain why Mendel was still able to use results from his crossing experiments to develop the principle of independent assortment?

Answer:: Mendel studied how traits are been passed from parents to offspring using seven features in peas, including height, flower color, seed color, and seed shape. To do this he divided the pea plant into short height and tall height. From this experiment he proposed a principle called independent assortment, which describes how different genes independently separate from one another when reproductive cells develop. Though this experiment was studied using gene formation in prokaryotic cell.

This principle of independent assortment is also seen in eukaryotic cells during meiosis.

Mendel proposed this principle because during cell formation of the offspring, each individual Gene from the parents will first separate to stand on its own before cross linking up together, which made the offspring look different from the parents. The principle of independent assortment does not criticize gene linkage, it only highlight how gene in the garments of the parents forms offspring, by sperating to assort independently.