Genetics
Vocabulary
Genetics: the scientific study of heredity. Heredity: the passing of traits from parents to offspring. Trait:a specific characteristic that an organism can pass to its offspring through its genes. Gene: a sequence of DNA that determines a trait and is passed from parent to offspring. Alleles: the different forms of a gene Dominant: an allele whose trait always shows up in the organism when the allele is present; represented by a capital letter Recessive: an allele that is hidden whenever the dominant allele is present; represented by a lower case letter Genotype: an organism's genetic makeup, or allele combinations Phenotype: an organism's physical appearance, or visible traits Homozygous: having two identical alleles for a particular gene
Heterozygous: having two different alleles for a particular gene Punnett Square: a chart that shows all the possible combinations of alleles that can result from a genetic cross |
Mendel and Genetics
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