Chapter 10 Vocab Flashcards
The transmission of traits from one generation to the next
Heredity
Differences between members of the same species
Variation
The scientific study of heredity and hereditary variation
Genetics
A discrete unit of hereditary information consisting of a specific nucleotide sequence in DNA (or RNA, in some viruses).
Genes
A haploid reproductive cell, such as an egg or a sperm. They unite during sexual reproduction to produce a diploid zygote.
Gametes
Any cell in a multicellular organism except a sperm or egg or their precursor
Somatic cells
A specific place along the length of a chromosome where a given gene is located
Locus
Without the fusion of gametes. The generation of offspring from a single parent that occurs without the fusion of gametes. In most cases the offspring are genetically identical to the parent.
Asexual reproduction
A type of reproduction in which two parents give rise to offspring that have unique combinations of genes inherited from the gametes of the parents.
Sexual reproduction
The generation-to-generation sequence of stages in the reproductive history of an organism..
Life cycle
A display of the chromosome pairs of a cell arranged by size and shape.
Karyotope
A pair of chromosomes of the same length, centromere position, and staining pattern that possess genes for the same characters at corresponding loci. One homologous chromosome is inherited from the organism’s father, the other from the mother. Also called homologs, or a homologous pair.
Homologous chromosomes
A chromosome responsible for determining the sex of an individual
Sex chromosomes
A chromosome that is not directly involved in determining sex; not a sex chromosome.
Autosomes
A cell containing two sets of chromosomes (2n), one set inherited from each parent
Diploid cells
