Question

If a child has type \(\mathrm{O}\) blood and the mother is type A, then which of the following could be the blood type of the child's father? a. A only b. B only c. O only d. A or O e. A, B, or O

Short answer

The short answer is: The child's father could have blood type A, B, or O (answer choice e).

Step-by-step solution

Identify the genotypes of the mother and child

The mother has blood type A, which means her genotype could be either AA or AO. The child has blood type O, which means their genotype is OO.

Determine the possible genotypes of the father

To have a child with the genotype OO, one of the father's alleles must be O. The possible genotypes of the father would be AO, BO, or OO.

Match the father's genotypes with blood types

Using the genotypes we found above, we can determine the corresponding blood types. AO corresponds to blood type A, BO corresponds to blood type B, and OO corresponds to blood type O.

Choose the correct answer

Based on the possible blood types of the father, we can choose the correct answer, which is: e. A, B, or O