Genetics and Heredity Flashcards
Grade 7 · Science · Flashcards
Essential vocabulary for genetics, alleles, inheritance patterns, and Mendelian laws.
Flashcards
- Heredity
- The passing of genetic traits from parents to offspring.
- Gene
- A segment of DNA on a chromosome that codes for a specific trait.
- Allele
- One version of a gene; you inherit two alleles for each gene (one per parent).
- Dominant allele
- An allele expressed whenever present; written as a capital letter (e.g., B).
- Recessive allele
- An allele expressed only when two copies exist; written as a lowercase letter (e.g., b).
- Homozygous
- Having two identical alleles for a gene (BB or bb).
- Heterozygous
- Having two different alleles for a gene (Bb).
- Genotype
- The actual allele combination an organism has (e.g., Bb).
- Phenotype
- The observable physical trait produced by the genotype (e.g., brown eyes).
- Punnett square
- A grid tool for predicting the probability of each genotype in offspring.
- Law of Segregation
- Mendel's rule that allele pairs separate during gamete formation; each gamete gets one allele.
- Law of Independent Assortment
- Mendel's rule that genes for different traits are inherited independently of each other.
- Codominance
- Inheritance pattern where both alleles are fully and simultaneously expressed in the phenotype.
- Incomplete dominance
- When the heterozygous phenotype is a blend of both parental phenotypes (e.g., red × white = pink).
- Mutation
- A change in DNA sequence that may alter a gene and create a new allele.
- Gregor Mendel
- 19th-century scientist whose pea plant experiments established the foundational laws of genetics.
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