A colour blind girl can be born only if

  • A. her mother alone is colour blind
  • B. her father alone is colour blind
  • C. her father is colour blind and her mother is at least a carrier
  • D. neither parent carries the allele

Explanation

A girl has two X chromosomes and needs the recessive allele on both, one from each parent. The father can only supply it if he is colour blind himself, and the mother must be either a carrier or colour blind. This is why affected women are rare, and it explains the pattern in which the condition seems to skip generations on the mother's side.

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