Mendel and His Peas

Question 1

the passing of genetic traits from parent to offspring

Answer 1

heredity

Question 2

the trait observed in the first generation when parents that have different traits are bred

Answer 2

dominant trait

Question 3

a trait that reappears in the second generation after disappearing in the first generation when parents with different traits are bred

Answer 3

recessive trait

Question 4

one set of instructions for an inherited trait

Answer 4

gene

Question 5

one of the alternative forms of a gene that governs a characteristic, such as hair color

Answer 5

allele

Question 6

an organism’s appearance or other detectable characteristic

Answer 6

phenotype

Question 7

the entire genetic makeup of an organism; also the combination of genes for one or more specific traits

Answer 7

genotype

Question 8

the likelihood that a possible future event will occur in any given instance of the event

Answer 8

probability

Question 9

chromosomes that have the same sequence of genes and the same structure

Answer 9

homologous chromosomes

Question 10

a process in cell division during which the number of chromosomes decrease to half the original number by two divisions of the nucleus, which results in the production of sex cells

Answer 10

meiosis

Question 11

one of the pair of chromosomes that determine the sex of an individual

Answer 11

sex chromosomes

Question 12

a diagram that shows the occurrence of a genetic trait in several generations of a family

Answer 12

pedigree

Question 13

DeoxyriboNucleic Acid, a molecule that is present in all living cells and that contains the information that determines the traits that a living thing inherits and needs to live

Answer 13

DNA

Question 14

in a nucleic-acid chain, a subunit that consists of a sugar, a phosphate, and a nitrogenous base

Answer 14

nucleotide

Question 15

RiboNucleic Acid, a molecule that is present in all living cells and that plays a role in protein production

Answer 15

RNA