Heredity
The passing on of characteristics from
parents to offspring
Genetics
The branch of biology that deals with
heredity
Traits
A genetically determined
characteristic or condition
Gametes
Sex cells; a reproductive cell having
the haploid number of chromosomes
Female gamete
Egg, haploid ½ the normal of
chromosomes, 23 in humans
Sperm, haploid or ½ the normal of
chromosomes , 23 in humans
Male gamete
Fertilization
Genotype
Phenotype
Allele
Gene
Homozygous
The uniting of female and male
gametes
Is the actual code that alleles or
genes posses
The observable or detectable
characteristics of an individual
organism
Is an alternate form of a gene for on
trait
Are the smallest chemical parts that
form segments of chromosomes –
genes determine what we look like
A genotype consisting of two
identical alleles of a gene for a
particular trait
Heterozygous
Dominant
A genotype consisting of two different
alleles of a gene for a particular trait
Observed trait of an organism that
mask the recessive allele of a trait
Recessive
A trait of an organism that can be
marked by the dominant form of a
trait
Punnett Square
A simple graph method of showing all
of the potential combinations of
offspring genotypes that can occur
and their probability given the parent
genotypes.
Probability
The likelihood that a specific event will
occur
Mendel’s experiment
-An Austrian monk who is often called
the “father of genetics”
-He tested some 28,000-30,000 pea
plants over 7 years
-He found the dominant and
recessive traits
-He disproved the theory of blending
and replaced it with his 4 laws
Mendel’s laws- #1The rule of unit
factor
#2: The rule of dominance
each organism has 2 genes for each
of its traits
Only one trait was visible in the
generation, the dominant trait
#3: The law of segregation
The two alleles for each trait must
separate when gametes are formed
#4: The law of independent
assortment
The alleles for one trait behaved
independently of alleles for other traits
during gamete production