science

Question 1

genetics

Answer 1

scientific study of heredity

Question 2

fertilization

Answer 2

process in sexual reproduction in which male and female reproductive cells join to form a new cell

Question 3

trait

Answer 3

specific characteristic of an individual

Question 4

hybrid

Answer 4

offspring of crosses between parents with different traits

Question 5

gene

Answer 5

sequence of DNA that codes for a protein and thus determines a trait; factor that is passed from parent to offspring

Question 6

allele

Answer 6

one of a number of different forms of a gene

Question 7

principle of dominance

Answer 7

Mendel’s second conclusion, which states that some alleles are dominant and others are recessive

Question 8

segregation

Answer 8

separation of alleles during gamete formation

Question 9

gamete

Answer 9

sex cell

Question 10

probability

Answer 10

likelihood that a particular event will occur

Question 11

homozygous

Answer 11

having two identical alleles for a particular gene

Question 12

heterozygous

Answer 12

having two different alleles for a particular gene

Question 13

phenotype

Answer 13

physical characteristics of an organism

Question 14

genotype

Answer 14

genetic makeup of an organism

Question 15

punnet square

Answer 15

diagram that can be used to predict the genotype and phenotype combinations of a genetic cross

Question 16

independent assortment

Answer 16

one of Mendel’s principles that states that genes for different traits can segregate independently during the formation of gametes

Question 17

incomplete dominance

Answer 17

situation in which one allele is not completely dominant over another allele

Question 18

codominance

Answer 18

situation in which the phenotypes produced by both alleles are completely expressed

Question 19

multiple alleles

Answer 19

a gene that has more than two alleles

Question 20

polygenetic trait

Answer 20

trait controlled by two or more genes

Question 21

homologous

Answer 21

term used to refer to chromosomes in which one set comes from the male parent and one set comes from the female parent

Question 22

diploid

Answer 22

term used to refer to a cell that contains two sets of homologous chromosomes

Question 23

haploid

Answer 23

term used to refer to a cell that contains only a single set of genes

Question 24

meiosis

Answer 24

process in which the number of chromosomes per cell is cut in half through the separation of homologous chromosomes in a diploid cell

Question 25

tetrad

Answer 25

structure containing four chromatids that forms during meiosis

Question 26

crossing over

Answer 26

process in which homologous chromosomes exchange portions of their chromatids during meiosis