CH 13 vocabulary

Question 1

Heredity

Answer 1

the passing of traits from parent to offspring.

Question 2

Variation

Answer 2

the occurrence of an organism in more than one distinct form.

Question 3

Genetics

Answer 3

the study of genes and inheritance in living organisms

Question 4

Genes

Answer 4

the basic physical and functional unit of heredity.

Question 5

Somatic cells

Answer 5

any cell in the body that are not gametes, germ cells, or stem cells.

Question 6

Gametes

Answer 6

sperm or egg cells, they originate from germ cells.

Question 7

Locus

Answer 7

a specific, fixed position on a chromosome where a particular gene or genetic marker is located.

Question 8

Asexual reproduction

Answer 8

when an organism makes more of itself without exchanging genetic information with another organism.

Question 9

Clone

Answer 9

an individual grown from a single somatic cell or cell nucleus and genetically identical to it.

Question 10

Sexual Reproduction

Answer 10

the process in which new organisms are created, by combining the genetic information from two individuals of different sexes.

Question 11

Life Cycle

Answer 11

The cycle of being born and reproducing.

Question 12

Karyotype

Answer 12

an individual’s collection of chromosomes

Question 13

Chromosomes

Answer 13

The inheritance of traits is due to the transmission of genes from parents to offspring which code for the physical similarities that we observe.

Question 14

Homologous chromosomes (homologs)

Answer 14

two pieces of DNA within a diploid organism which carry the same genes, one from each parental source.

Question 15

Sex chromosomes

Answer 15

chromosomes that determine whether the individual is male or female.

Question 16

Autosomes

Answer 16

a chromosome in a eukaryotic cell that is not a sex chromosome.

Question 17

Diploid cell

Answer 17

a cell which contains two copies of genetic material, or a complete set of chromosomes, paired with their homologs

Question 18

Haploid cells

Answer 18

the condition of a cell having a one set of chromosomes.

Question 19

Fertilization

Answer 19

the process by which male and female gametes are fused together, initiating the development of a new organism.

Question 20

Zygote

Answer 20

the cell formed when two gametes fuse during fertilization.

Question 21

Meiosis

Answer 21

the process in eukaryotic, sexually-reproducing animals that reduces the number of chromosomes in a cell before reproduction.

Question 22

Meiosis I

Answer 22

the first part of meiosis that consists of different phases where duplicated DNA is separated into daughter cells.

Question 23

Meiosis II

Answer 23

the second part of meiosis where the two alleles of each gene are separated into individual cells.

Question 24

Synapsis

Answer 24

an event that occurs during meiosis in which homologous chromosomes pair with their counterparts and remain bound due to the exchange of genetic information.

Question 25

Recombinant chromosomes

Answer 25

a chromosome that has been modified to include genes from multiple sources.

Question 26

Crossing Over

Answer 26

the exchange of genetic material between non-sister chromatids of homologous chromosomes during meiosis, which results in new allelic combinations.

Question 27

Independent Assortment

Answer 27

a genetic term that refers to the variation of chromosomes, or genetic information, during sex cell division.

Question 28

Random Fertilization

Answer 28

the concept that all gametes are created equal when it comes to their chances of being able to reproduce.

Question 29

Chiasma

Answer 29

a structure that forms between a pair of homologous chromosomes by crossover recombination and physically links the homologous chromosomes during meiosis.