Genetics Vocabulary
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Created by:
breisinger on May 22, 2011
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28 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 trait | a form of a characteristic; type of feature, a specific characteristic that varies from one individual to another |
| heredity | the passing of traits from parents to offspring |
| heritable | a trait capable of being inherited |
| genetics | the scientific study of heredity |
| frequency | the number of times a value occurs out of the total possible |
| bar graph | a type of graph in which the lengths of bars are used to represent and compare data in categories |
| purebred | the offspring of many generations that have the same traits |
| hybrid | an organism that has two different alleles for a trait; an organism that is heterozygous for a trait |
| gene | a segment of DNA on a chromosome that codes for a specific trait |
| allele | the different forms of a gene, one of two alternate forms of a gene |
| dominant allele | an allele whose trait always shows up in the organism when the allele is present |
| recessive allele | an allele that is masked when a dominant allele is present, An allele that will not determine the phenotype unless the genotype is homozygous in that allele |
| dominance | A characteristic in which an allele that expresses its phenotype even in the presence of a recessive allele |
| incomplete dominance | a type of inheritance in which one allele for a specific trait is not completely dominant over the other allele resulting in a blended phenotype |
| codominance | a condition in which neither of two alleles of a gene is dominant or recessive, both alleles for a gene are fully expressed |
| probability | a number that describes how likely it is that an event will occur |
| independent event | events for which the outcome of the second event does not depend on previous outcomes because the chance is still the same |
| 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 |
| homozygous | having two identical alleles for a trait |
| heterozygous | having two different alleles for a trait |
| meiosis | the process that occurs in the formation of sex cells (sperm and egg) by which the number of chromosomes is reduced by half |
| chromosome theory of inheritance | genes are carried from parents to their offspring on chromosomes |
| DNA | Deoxyribonucleic acid; the genetic material that carries information about an organism and is passed from parent to offspring. |
| chromosome | a doubled rod of condensed chromatin; contains DNA that carries genetic information. |
| homologous | term used to refer to chromosomes that each have a corresponding chromosome from the opposite-sex parent |
| genome | all of the DNA in one cell of an organism |
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