Hardy-Weinberg law
[ hahr-dee-wahyn-burg ]
/ ˈhɑr diˈwaɪn bɜrg /
noun Genetics.
a principle stating that in an infinitely large, randomly mating population in which selection, migration, and mutation do not occur, the frequencies of alleles and genotypes do not change from generation to generation.
Origin of Hardy-Weinberg law
1945–50; named after English mathematician G. H. Hardy and German physician Wilhelm Weinberg (1862–1937), who independently formulated it
Also called binomial law, Hardy-Weinberg distribution.
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Medicine definitions for hardy-weinberg law
Hardy-Weinberg law
[ -wīn′bərg ]
n.
A fundamental principle in population genetics stating that the genotype frequencies and gene frequencies of a large, randomly mating population remain constant provided immigration, mutation, and selection do not take place.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Science definitions for hardy-weinberg law
Hardy-Weinberg law
[ här′dē-wīn′bûrg ]
A fundamental principle in population genetics stating that the genotype frequencies and gene frequencies of a large, randomly mating population remain constant provided immigration, mutation, and selection do not take place. In the simple case of a chromosome locus with two alleles, A and a, with frequencies p and q respectively, the frequency of the homozygotic genotype AA under random mating will be p2, of heterozygotic Aa will be 2pq, and of homozygotic aa will be q2. The law is named for its formulators, British mathematician Godfrey Harold Hardy (1877-1947) and German physician Wilhelm Weinberg (1862-1937).
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