Here's why:
* F1 Generation: Mendel crossed homozygous dominant (PP) and homozygous recessive (pp) parents, resulting in all heterozygous (Pp) offspring in the F1 generation. All F1 plants expressed the dominant phenotype.
* F2 Generation: When Mendel self-pollinated the F1 plants, the following combinations were possible in the F2 generation:
* PP: Dominant phenotype
* Pp: Dominant phenotype
* pP: Dominant phenotype
* pp: Recessive phenotype
This resulted in a 3:1 ratio of dominant to recessive phenotypes.