Heredity
The passing of traits from parent to offsprin
Gregor Mendel
Father of genetics, his experiments on peas helped determine that some inherited traits show and some do not but can be passes to offspring and resurface in later generations.
Genetics
the study of heredity
Trait
A characteristic that an organism can pass on to its offspring through its genes.
inherited trait
a characteristic passed on from a parent to an offspring like eye or fur color
acquired trait
A trait that is not in your genes but is learned from environmental factors, like a monkey using a rock to crack a coconut
Fertilization
Process in sexual reproduction in which male and female reproductive cells join to form a new cell
Purebred/Homozygous
Alleles are the same, two capitals or two lower case letters. (TT, tt)
Hybrid/Heterozygous
An organism that has two different alleles for a trait. (Tt)
Genes
Chemical factors that determine traits, located on chromosomes
Alleles
Different forms of a gene
dominant trait
the trait the show up if the organism has at least one allele for that trait
recessive trait
a trait that is expressed only if the organism inherits two alleles that are recessive and none that are dominant
Probability
likelihood that a particular event will occur
Punnett Square
A chart that shows all the possible combinations of alleles that can result from a genetic cross
Genotype
An organism’s genetic makeup, or allele combinations.
Phenotype
An organism’s physical appearance, or visible traits.
genetic disorder
an inherited disease or disorder that is caused by a mutation in a gene or by a chromosomal defect
sex chromosomes
The 23rd pair of chromosomes in the human, contains genes that will determine the gender of the individual. female XX, male XY
