Gregor Mendel (SB3) Flashcards
What was the backstory of Gregor Mendel
He was an Austrian monk
What did Mendel study in school
Mathematics in the University of Vienna
What research did Gregor Mendel study about
In the mid-19th century, he carried out breeding experiments on plants.
He studied about how characteristics were passed on between generations of plants.
What was Mendel’s first experiment
He crossed a tall pea plant with a dwarf pea plant
What was Mendel’s second experiment
He crossed two of the tall offspring produced from the tall and dwarf pea plants together
What was the discovery of the first experiment
When he crossed tall pea plants with the dwarf pea plant, all of the offspring were tall pea plants
What was the discovery of the second experiment
When he crossed a tall pea plant with a tall pea plant, the offspring were 3 tall pea plants and one dwarf pea plant
What was Mendel’s conclusion about characteristics
Characteristics are determined by ‘hereditary units’ and these units are passed on from parent to offspring unchanged
What was Mendel’s conclusion about what the offspring receives
The offspring receives one ‘hereditary unit’ from each parent
What was Mendel’s conclusion about hereditary units
They can either be dominant or recessive (a dominant characteristic is always expressed when present)
What are hereditary units
Genes
What is Mendel’s work known as
Foundation for modern genetics
Why was Mendel’s discovery not recognized until after death
His studies were totally new to science in the 19th century. There was no knowledge of the mechanisms behind his findings (DNA, genes and chromosomes had not been discovered yet).
