Genetics & Heredity Study Guide
1. Why do cells need to produce new cells? For growth, repair, and reproduction
2. What is the result of mitosis? 2 new cells (daughter cells)
3. ____ Heredity ______ is the passing of traits from parents to offspring.
4. What trait appears in the first generation? Dominant trait
5. What trait appears in the second generation? Recessive trait
6. ____ Traits ______ are different forms of a characteristic.
7. What are alleles? Different forms of a gene
8. Instructions for an inherited trait are called __Genes_____.
9. Use a Punnett square to determine the possible genotypes of the offspring of a YY x Yy cross.
YY, Yy
10. What does each parent give off to the offspring? One set of genes for each trait
11. What does it mean when an organism is homozygous for a trait? It will have the same alleles; two
dominant or two recessive
12. _____ Characteristic ____________ is a feature that has different forms in a population.
13. The process that produces sex cells is called ______ Meiosis _________.
14. What cells are produced during asexual cell reproduction?
Somatic or body cells; all body cells except sex cells
15. How are sex cells different from other human cells? Sex cells only contain half of the genetic material
16. Where are genes located? Sections of DNA located in chromosomes
17. How many cells are produced during meiosis? 4 new cells with only half of the genetic material
18. Who was Gregor Mendel? A scientist who discovered the principles of heredity while studying pea plants
19. Draw a picture a DNA model. Describe the shape of DNA.
Double helix
20. DNA is made of subunits called _Nucleotides____.
21. What is chromatin? DNA coiled, or wrapped, around proteins
22. What is DNA fingerprinting? Identifies a person’s unique DNA pattern
23. What are mutations? Changes in the number, type, or order of bases on a piece of DNA
24. To be copied, a DNA molecule splits where? Down the middle
25. What letters represent the four bases in a DNA molecule?
a. A,B, C, D
b. A, T, G, C
c. W, X, Y, Z
d. E, Y, A, O
26. A tobacco plant with a firefly gene that makes it glow is an example of __Genetic engineering___.
27. Fill in the chart below:
Stage of Mitosis
Interphase
prophase
metaphase
anaphase
telophase
cytokinesis
Description
DNA copies; Centrioles copy
Drawing of each stage
Chromosomes condense into chromatids;
nuclear membrane breaks apart
Chromatids line up in the center of the cell
and attach to the spindle fibers
Chromatids are pulled apart to opposite
ends of the cell
Two new nuclei form around
chromosomes; chromosomes unwind
Cytoplasm divides; two new cells are
produced
28. What is a chromosome? a part of the cell found in the nucleus that contains all of our genetic material (DNA);
made up of 2 identical chromatids, which is made up of chromatin (DNA wrapped around proteins)
29. What is a homologous chromosome? 2 similar chromosomes in a pair
30. ___Cell_____ ___Cycle_________ is the life cycle of a cell.
31. Compare and contrast mitosis vs. meiosis.
Mitosis- 2 new cells, body cells, one parent, asexual cell reproduction
Meiosis- 4 new cells, sex cells, two parents, sexual cell reproduction
32. For each picture below, write whether they going through sexual or asexual reproduction.
Bacterium- asexual
Hydra- asexual
Strawberry plant- asexual
Jellyfish- sexual
33. ___Binary ____ ____Fission______ a method of asexual reproduction in which bacteria splits into two.
34. _______ Budding ______________: happens when a part of the parent organism, such as a hydra,
pinches off and forms a new organism.
35. _____ Fragmentation ________________: parts of the organism, such as a flat worm, break off and a
new organism grows identical to the parent.
36. _____Regeneration _________________: organism, such as a sea star, loses a body part and that part
may develop into a new organism.
37. You can use a __Punnett___ ___ square________ to organize possible offspring combinations.
38. ___ Phenotype_____________ is an organism’s appearance.
39. _____Genotype ___________ is the entire genetic makeup of an organism.
40. ___Probability _____________ is the mathematical chance that something will happen.
41. Homozygous alleles (ex. PP) are also called ____purebred _____________.
42. Why is it important for chromosomes (DNA) to be copied before cell division?
It is important for DNA to be copied so that each new cell gets its own copy of DNA.
43. If a child has blue eyes and both of her parents have brown eyes, what does this tell you about the
allele for blue eyes?
It tells you that each parent carried the recessive gene for blue eyes and passed it to their child.
44. XX = ___female_____ (male or female); XY ____ male _______ (male or female)
45. Use the Punnett square to answer the question that follows:
?
?
S
SS
SS
s
Ss
Ss
What is the unknown genotype? SS
46. Lisa is dominant homozygous for brown hair. Her husband Dean has blond hair. Create a Punnett
Square for Lisa and Dean’s offspring. What are the possible genotypes and phenotypes for their
children? What percentage of the children will have brown hair? What percentage will have blonde?
Genotypes= Bb
Phenotypes= brown hair
Brown hair= 100%
Blonde hair= 0%
B
B
b
b
Bb
Bb
Bb
Bb