The Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium model tries to explain why genotype frequencies may remain constant within a
population. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in its simplest form is based on the existence of two
alleles at a single
genetic locus. These are generally called p and q. If we make the assumption that the population is
large (effectively
infinite),
mating is
random and that there is no difference in
fitness between the
genotypes, given sufficient
time the genotype frequencies will be:
Genotype pp pq qq
Frequency p2 2pq q2
This should (assuming the above assumptions are true) be stable - although the genotype frequencies may be different to the starting point, the allele frequencies should be the same as before. Equilibrium has therefore been reached. Sadly for the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium model, the above assumptions are rarely true. In most cases, genetic equilibrium is reached by strong selection pressure in opposite directions stabalising the population.