What is the probability of cloven hooves in the offspring of parents that are heterozygous for the trait?

To answer this question, we need to understand a bit about genetics. The trait for cloven hooves is likely determined by a single gene with two alleles. If the parents are heterozygous for the trait, it means they each have one dominant allele (let's call it "C") and one recessive allele (let's call it "c").

The dominant allele "C" codes for cloven hooves, while the recessive allele "c" codes for non-cloven hooves.

When these parents reproduce, they each pass on one of their alleles to their offspring. The possible combinations are "CC", "Cc", "cC", and "cc".

Here's how we calculate the probability:

1. "CC" - This offspring has cloven hooves because it has two dominant alleles. The probability of this happening is 0.25 (or 1/4), because there's one "CC" combination out of four possible combinations.

2. "Cc" or "cC" - This offspring also has cloven hooves because it has one dominant allele. The probability of this happening is 0.5 (or 1/2), because there are two "Cc" combinations out of four possible combinations.

3. "cc" - This offspring does not have cloven hooves because it has two recessive alleles. The probability of this happening is 0.25 (or 1/4), because there's one "cc" combination out of four possible combinations.

So, the probability of the offspring having cloven hooves is the sum of the probabilities of "CC", "Cc", and "cC", which is 0.25 + 0.5 = 0.75 (or 75%).