Inheritance, Genes, and Chromosomes

Question 1

Particulate inheritance

Answer 1

Particulate inheritance - hereditary determinants are distinct units (particles), that remain intact when gametes fuse

Question 2

Blending inheritance

Answer 2

Blending inheritance - hereditary determinants blend in the zygote. Like inks of different colors, once mixed they can no longer be separated

Question 3

Difference between dominant and recessive alleles

Answer 3

Dominant alleles are expressed; recessive alleles may be mutated and no longer expressed, or encode non-functional

Question 4

Mendel’s law of inheritance

Answer 4

1st law: the law of segregation - the 2 copies of a gene separate during gamete formation; each gamete receives only 1 copy
2nd law: independent assortment - copies of different genes assort independently. It’s understood in the context of meiosis. Chromosomes segregate independently during formation of gametes, and so do any 2 genes located on separate chromosome pairs

Question 5

Punnett square

Answer 5

shows you all possible combinations of gametes

Question 6

What are pedigrees and why are they important?

Answer 6

Human geneticists rely on pedigrees: family trees that show the occurrence of phenotypes in several generations of related individuals. Pedigrees can be used to determine whether a rare allele is dominant or recessive

Question 7

Incomplete dominance and codominance

Answer 7

Incomplete dominance - alleles are neither dominant nor recessive
Codominance - alleles produce phenotypes that are both present in the heterozygote

Question 8

Pleiotropy

Answer 8

Pleiotropic - 1 allele has multiple phenotypic effects

Question 9

What makes an allele pleiotropic?

Answer 9

A gene is pleiotropic if it affects more than one phenotypic trait

Question 10

Epistasis

Answer 10

phenotypic expression of one gene is influenced by another gene

Question 11

What factors affect phenotypes?

Answer 11

Light, temperature, nutrition, etc. can affect expression of the genotype

Question 12

Qualitative vs. quantitative

Answer 12

Qualitative data is descriptive information about characteristics that are difficult to define or measure or cannot be expressed numerically. Quantitative data is numerical information that can be measured or counted.

Question 13

Examples of qualitative data

Answer 13

feelings and emotions
texture
flavor
color

Question 14

Examples of quantitative data

Answer 14

height
weight
number of objects
volume
temperature
pressure
price
speed
percentages