Chapter 13 Flashcards
Living organisms are distinguished by
their ability to reproduce their own kind
Genetics is the
scientific study of heredity and variation
Heredity is the
transmission of traits from one generation to the next
Variation is
demonstrated by the differences in appearance that offspring show from parents and siblings
Offspring acquire genes from parents by
inheriting chromosomes
In a literal sense, children do not
inherit particular physical traits from their parents
It is
genes that are actually inherited
Genes are the
units of heredity, and are made up of segments of DNA
Genes are generic categories, but they have specific locations
Genes are passed to the next generation via reproductive cells called
gametes (sperm and eggs)
Each gene has a specific location called a
locus, on a certain chromosome
Most DNA is packaged into
chromosomes
One set of chromosomes is inherited from
each parent
Every person has
specific details (alleles)
In asexual reproduction (mitosis),
a single individual passes genes to its offspring without the fusion of gametes
A clone is
a group of genetically identical individuals from the same parent
In sexual reproduction,
two parents give rise to offspring that have unique combinations of genes inherited from the two parents
Fertilization and Meiosis alternate in
sexual life cycles
A life cycle is the
generation-to-generation sequence of stages in the reproductive history of an organism
Human somatic cells (any cell other than a gamete) have
23 pairs of chromosomes.
have 2 of every chromosome
A karyotype is an
ordered display of the pairs of chromosomes from a cell
The two chromosomes in each pair are called
homologous chromosomes, or homologs
Chromosomes in a homologous pair are the
same length and shape and carry genes controlling the same inherited characters ((but slightly different information??))
The sex chromosome, which determine the sex of the individual, are called
X and Y
Human females have a
homologous pair of X chromosomes (XX)