Vocabulary Flashcards
(22 cards)
A characteristic that an organism can pass on to its offspring through its genes
Trait
The passing of traits from parents to offspring
Heredity
The scientific study of heredity
Genetics
The joining of sperm and egg
Fertilization
The offspring of many generations that have the same traits
Purebred
Set of information that controls a trait, a segment of DNA on a chromosome that codes for a specific trait
Gene
The different forms of a gene
Alleles
An allele whose trait always shows up in the organism when the allele is present
Dominant Allele
An allele that is masked when a dominant allele is present
Recessive Allele
An organism that has two different alleles for a trait, an organism that is heterozygous for a particular trait
Hybrid
A chart that shows all the possible combinations of alleles that can result from a genetic cross
Punnett Square
An organism’s physical appearance, or visible traits
Phenotype
An organism’s genetic makeup or allele combinations
Genotype
Having two identical alleles for a trait
Homozygous
Having two different alleles for a trait
Heterozygous
A condition in which neither of two alleles of a gene is dominant or recessive
Codominance
A reproductive process that involves two parents that combine their genetic material to produce a new organism, which differs from both parents
Sexual Reproduction
Describes a cell that has two sets of chromosomes, which differs from both parents
Diploid
The process that occurs in the formation of sex cells by which number of chromosomes is reduced by half
Meiosis
RNA that copies the coded message from DNA in the nucleus and carries the message into the cytoplasm
Messenger RNA
RNA in the cytoplasm that carries an amino acid to the ribosome and adds it to the growing protein chain
Transfer RNA
A change in a gene or chromosome
Mutation
