Population Size Calculation

To calculate the total population size, we need to use the allelic frequency and the number of individuals with the recessive phenotype.

Formula:
Total population size = (number of recessive individuals / allelic frequency) * 2

Calculation:
Given, allelic frequency = 0.4
Number of individuals with recessive phenotype = 100

Total population size = (100 / 0.4) * 2
Total population size = 500

Therefore, the total population size is 500.

Explanation:
The allelic frequency represents the proportion of a particular allele in a population. In this case, the allelic frequency is 0.4, which means that 40% of the alleles in the population are the recessive allele.

To calculate the total population size, we use the number of individuals with the recessive phenotype, which is a result of inheriting two copies of the recessive allele. We multiply this number by 2 to get the total number of recessive alleles in the population.

Then, we divide this number by the allelic frequency to get the total number of alleles in the population. Since each individual has two alleles, we multiply this number by 2 to get the total population size.

Therefore, the total population size is 500.