Unit 3 Vocabulary Flash Cards
DNA
Chromosomes
Cell cycle
Interphase
Mitosis
Cytokinesis
Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telophase
Homologous chromosomes
Meiosis
Sex chromosomes
Gamete
Packaged up DNA that is ready to be copied
Molecule usually found in the nucleus of a cell
that has the genetic material that decides the
traits of living things and passes those
instructions from parent to child
First and longest part of the cell cycle where
the cell grows in size and an exact copy of
the DNA is made so the cell has 2 identical
copies; getting ready stage before mitosis starts
Process where a cell makes an exact copy
of its DNA and divides itself into two identical
cells called daughter cells; 3 parts are
interphase, mitosis, & cytokinesis
Last part of the cell cycle where the cell
membrane separates the cytoplasm and
creates two identical daughter cells; clean-up
phase of the cell cycle
Part of the cell cycle where the nucleus of a
cell splits in half with identical copies of the
duplicated DNA moving to each new nucleus;
contains the 4 phases prophase, metaphase,
anaphase, & telophase
Second step of mitosis where the
chromosomes line up on the spindle in
the middle of the cell
First step of mitosis where the nuclear
membrane disappears, centrioles appear in
the animal cell, and a spindle forms
in the cell
Fourth step of mitosis where the nuclear
membrane reforms around the chromosomes,
centrioles and spindle disappear, and the cell
membrane begins to pinch together in the
middle to separate the cytoplasm
Third step of mitosis where the cell lengthens
and the chromosomes start to move to
opposite ends of the cell
Special type of cell division where cells are
created that have half the number of
chromosomes from the original cell;
creates the sex cells or gametes
Chromosome pairs that have the same structure
and size and carry the genes for the same traits;
the regular sets of chromosomes, not including
the sex chromosomes
Sex cell, either the sperm (male) or egg
cell (female)
X and Y chromosomes that control gender and
are not homologous, or the same; the female X
chromosome is much longer and has different
traits than the male’s shorter Y chromosome
Zygote
Asexual reproduction
Binary fission
Budding
Sexual reproduction
Fertilization
Egg cell
Sperm cell
Heredity
Gene
Allele
Genotype
Phenotype
Dominant
Type of reproduction where the parent
organism makes an exact copy of itself
for an offspring, the baby has the exact
DNA as the parent
Fertilized sex cell; cell where the sperm and
egg cell have joined and combined their
DNA to create a cell that has the complete
number of chromosomes needed for life to
be created through sexual reproduction;
this is what grows into the baby
Type of asexual reproduction where the
baby grows off the side of the parent and
is an identical copy of the parent, with the
same DNA; done by hydra, yeasts, etc
Type of asexual reproduction done by
prokaryotes, or unicellular organisms that
don’t have a nucleus; the cell divides into two
exactly identical cells with the same DNA
Process where the sperm cell and egg cell
combine to make a new cell called the
zygote, or fertilized egg cell
Type of reproduction that uses sex cells;
each parent contributes half their DNA to
the baby through their sex cells; the child is a
combination of both parent’s DNA making it
different from both of them
Male sex cell; has half the number of
chromosomes as the body cells
Female sex cell; has half the number of
chromosomes as the body cells
Segments of DNA found on chromosomes
that give instructions for making the
traits look a certain way
The study of genetics, or the passing
on of traits from parent to child
Combination of alleles (or letters) you have
for a certain trait; ex: BB, Tt, rr
Different versions of a gene
The stronger of the two alleles, it will hide
or mask the other allele if it is there; the
bully gene; always written with a capital letter
The physical features, or appearance of
the trait; ex: long hair, green color pea,
curly hair, freckles, red petals, etc
Trait
Gregor Mendel
Purebred
Hybrid
Heterozygous
Homozygous
Recessive
Incomplete dominance
Codominance
Complete dominance
Punnett square
Pedigree chart
Probability
Ratio
Father of Genetics, he worked with pea
plants to figure out how traits were passed
down from one generation to the next
Characteristics, or different forms of a gene;
ex: hair color, eye color, height, shape of
the leaf, length of the cat’s hair, length
of the tail, etc
Genotype that has one dominant and one
recessive allele for the trait; ex: Bb or Rr;
also called heterozygous
Genotype that has two dominant or two
recessive alleles for the trait; ex: bb or RR;
also called homozygous
Genotype that has two dominant or two
recessive alleles for the trait; ex: bb or RR;
also called purebred
Genotype that has one dominant and one
recessive allele for the trait; ex: Bb or Rr;
also called hybrid
Process where both alleles are equally
dominant and they mix together to form a new
phenotype, or physical feature, that is different
from both parents; ex: dominant red and
dominant white flowers make pink flowers
Weaker allele in the genotype, it will be
hidden by the strong allele unless there
are two of them; always written with the
lower case letter – bb, tt, ee
Process where the dominant allele hides
the recessive allele and the phenotype or
physical features for the offspring are the
dominant trait; ex; Bb is brown eyes even
though it has the allele for blue color
Process where both alleles are equally
dominant and they both show up in the
offspring’s phenotype or physical features;
ex: black cow and white cow make a
black and white spotted cow
Chart used to show how a specific trait has
been passed down for many generations
Chart used to predict the possible genotypes
of the babies in a cross between two
specific parents
Mathematical expression that tells the chance
of something happening using two sets of
numbers; ex: 1:4 or 1 out of 4 chance the
offspring will have blue eyes
Mathematical chance of a specific outcome
happening; ex: 50% chance a homozygous
offspring in this cross
Sex-lined trait
Carrier
Rosalind Franklin
Maurice Wilkins
James Watson & Francis Crick
Nucleotide
Double helix
Replication
RNA
Biotechnology
Artificial selection
Genetic engineering
Clone
Selective breeding
Being heterozygous or hybrid for a trait,
you have one recessive allele for the trait so
you don’t have the disease but you can pass
it down to your children
Scientist that stole the X-ray picture of DNA
and gave it to his competitors; got the
Nobel Prize for the double helix structure
of DNA with two other scientists
Trait that is on the sex chromosome,
the X or Y chromosome; ex: baldness,
colorblindness
Scientists that took the first X-ray
picture of DNA
Building block of DNA, made up of a base,
a sugar, and a phosphate group; four of these:
adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine
Scientists that used the stolen X-ray picture
of DNA to figure out the double helix structure
of the DNA strand; were given the Nobel Prize
for this discover with another scientist
Process where the DNA is copied
Shape of the DNA strand
Using different means to make an offspring
have the traits you want; ex: selective
breeding, genetic engineering, cloning, etc
Ribonucleic acid; single strand that can leave
the nucleus in the form of ribosomes to give
instructions to different parts of the cell
Process where DNA is modified, or changed,
for use in research, making medicine, growing
crops (agriculture), or industry; scientist go
in and change the DNA of an organism for
a specific reason
Process of selecting and breeding organism
that have the trait you want or don’t have the
trait you don’t want passed down; also
known as selective breeding
Process of selecting and breeding organism
that have the trait you want or don’t have the
trait you don’t want passed down; also
known as artificial selection
Organism or part of an organism that is
genetically identical to the original organism
or part; ex: Dolly the sheep has identical DNA
to the original sheep, an exact copy of a
person’s organ can be made for them and
surgically put in their body