Lesson 7 Definitions

Question 1

genetics

Answer 1

the study of heredity

Question 2

autosome

Answer 2

any chromosome that isn’t a sex chromosome

Question 3

Law of Independent Assortment

Answer 3

during gamete formation, alleles of different genes assort independently of one another

Question 4

genotype

Answer 4

genetic characteristics of an organism

Question 5

simple dominance

Answer 5

occurs when two alleles of a single gene, the dominant version and the recessive version, code for a heritable trait. The presence of the dominant allele masks the presence of the recessive allele

Question 6

incomplete dominance

Answer 6

when a dominant allele, or form of a gene, does not completely mask the effects of a recessive allele, and the organism’s resulting physical appearance shows a blending of both alleles

Question 7

codominance

Answer 7

phenomenon in which two alleles (different versions of the same gene) are expressed to an equal degree within an organism

Question 8

dominant trait

Answer 8

inherited characteristic that appears in an offspring if it is contributed from a parent through a dominant allele

Question 9

recessive trait

Answer 9

weak, unexpressed characteristic of a pair of alleles

Question 10

aneuploid

Answer 10

abnormal chromosome number

Question 11

polyploid

Answer 11

includes triploidy

Question 12

allele

Answer 12

multiple forms of the same gene

Question 13

polygenic inheritance

Answer 13

inheritance of a phenotypic trait that varies in degree and is affected by the interaction of two or more genes, together with the environment

Question 14

multiple alleles

Answer 14

three or more possible alleles for an individual trait