Heredity and Genetics Vocabulary List
Gene-A unit of heredity that is transferred from parent to offspring. Genes carry
traits.
Heredity-the passing of a physical characteristic (trait) from one generation to
another
Offspring-a person or animal’s children
Dominant gene-a gene in one strand of DNA that is stronger than the
corresponding gene in the other strand of DNA
Recessive gene-a gene in one strand of DNA that is weaker than the
corresponding gene in the other strand of DNA
Inherited trait-a physical feature that a person gets from one or both of their
parents. Examples include eye color, hair color, height.
Physical trait-characteristic that describes how you look
Learned trait-characteristic that is learned from another person or people (like
your parents). Examples would be the walking and talking.
Parent-a father or mother
Variations-differences within the same type of species. Humans have many
variations between people everywhere.
Population-all the inhabitants of a particular town, city, country, or ecosystem.
Species-all the members of the same type of organism
Resemble-have qualities that are similar
Chromosome-A threadlike structure made of nucleic acids and protein found in
the nucleus of most living things
This is what a chromosome looks like
Nucleic Acid-A complex organic substance found in living cells—it makes up
DNA and RNA
DNA-A structure made of chromosomes that tells an organism’s cells what their
job will be
DNA looks like this. It is made of long strings of nucleic
acids and chromosomes linked together
Allele-one member of a pair of genes, located on a chromosome