In a dihybrid cross producing 1000 offspring, the following phenotypes were observed: 748 tall and hairy, 6 tall and smooth, 4 short and hairy, and 242 short and smooth. What best explains this distribution of phenotypes?

Explanation

The observed phenotype ratios suggest that the genes are linked but can be separated by crossing over during meiosis, resulting in the given distribution. This explains why certain combinations appear more frequently than others.