heredity vocab Flashcards
Heredity
the passing on of physical or mental characteristics genetically from one generation to another
Dominant Trait
A dominant trait is an inherited characteristic that appears in an offspring if it is contributed from a parent through a dominant allele
Recessive Trait
A recessive trait is the weak, unexpressed trait of a dichotomous pair of alleles that has no effect in the phenotype of heterozygous individuals
Genes
the basic physical and functional unit of heredity
Alleles
one of two or more alternative forms of a gene that arise by mutation and are found at the same place on a chromosome
Phenotype
the set of observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment
Genotype
the genetic constitution of an individual organism
Probability
how likely something is to happen
Meiosis
a type of cell division in sexually reproducing organisms that reduces the number of chromosomes in gametes
Sex chromosomes
A sex chromosome is a type of chromosome involved in sex determination
Pedigree
an ancestral line; line of descent; lineage; ancestry
DNA
the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms
Nucleotide
a compound consisting of a nucleoside linked to a phosphate group. Nucleotides form the basic structural unit of nucleic acids such as DNA
Mutations
a change in the DNA sequence of an organism
RNA
a nucleic acid present in all living cells that has structural similarities to DNA
