Genetics - Vocabulary

Question 1

gene

Answer 1

an inherited factor (encoded in the DNA) that helps determine a characteristic

Question 2

allele

Answer 2

one of two or more alternative forms of a gene

Question 3

locus

Answer 3

specific location on a chromosome occupied by an allele

Question 4

genotype

Answer 4

set of alleles possessed by an individual organism

Question 5

heterozygote

Answer 5

an individual organism possessing two different alleles at a locus

Question 6

homozygote

Answer 6

an individual organism possessing two of the same alleles at a locus

Question 7

phenotype or trait

Answer 7

the appearance or manifestation of a characteristic

Question 8

characteristic

Answer 8

an attribute or feature possessed by an organism

Question 9

Mendel’s principle of dominance

Answer 9

in a heterozygote, one allele may conceal
the presence of another

Question 10

Mendel’s principle of segregation

Answer 10

in a heterozygote, two different alleles (R and r) segregate from each other during the formation of gametes

Question 11

Mendel’s principle of independent assortment

Answer 11

• alleles on different pairs of chromosomes assort independently from one another
• occurs during anaphase I of the meiotic cycle