heredity Flashcards
a genetically determined characteristic
trait
the science of heredity and of the mechanisms by which traits are passed from parents to offspring
genetics
bred from members of a recognized breed, strain, or kind without outbreeding over many generations.
purebred
Mende’s law that states that the pairs of homologous chromosomes separate in meiosis so that only one chromosome from each pair is present in each gamete
law of segregation
the law that states that genes separate independently of one another in meiosis
law of independent assortment
a segment of DNA that is located in a chromosome and that codes for a specific hereditary trait
gene
one of the alternative forms of a gene that governs a characteristic, such as hair color
allele
the trait observed when at least one dominant allele for a characteristic is inherited
dominant
describes a trait or an allele that is expressed only when two recessive alleles for the same characteristic are inherited
recessive
describes an individual that has identical alleles for a trait on both homologous chromosomes
homozygous
describes an individual that has two different alleles for a trait
heterozygous
the entire genetic makeup of an organism; also the combination of genes for one or more specific traits
genotype
an organism’s appearance or other detectable characteristic that results from the organism’s genotype and the environment
phenotype
the likelihood that a possible future event will occur in any given instance of the event; the mathematical ratio of the number of times one outcome of any event is likely to occur to the number of possible outcomes of the event
probability
a graphic used to predict the results of a genetic cross
punnet square
