Mendelian Inheritance and Genotype Determination

This set of flashcards covers key vocabulary and concepts related to Mendelian inheritance, including definitions of important terms and principles.

Mendelian Inheritance

The type of biological inheritance that follows the principles first outlined by Gregor Mendel, involving the transmission of traits from parents to offspring.

Phenotype

The observable physical or biochemical characteristics of an organism, as determined by both genetic makeup and environmental influences.

Genotype

The genetic constitution of an individual, often referring to alleles present at a specific locus.

Homozygous

An organism that has two identical alleles for a specific trait (e.g., YY or yy).

Heterozygous

An organism that has two different alleles for a specific trait (e.g., Yy).

Dominant

An allele that expresses its phenotype in the presence of another allele (typically represented by a capital letter).

Recessive

An allele whose phenotype is not expressed in the presence of a dominant allele (typically represented by a lowercase letter).

Law of Segregation

Mendel's first law stating that during gamete formation, the two alleles for a trait segregate from each other.

Independent Assortment

Mendel's second law stating that alleles of two (or more) genes get sorted into gametes independently of one another.

Punnett Square

A diagram used to predict the genotype and phenotype combinations in genetic crosses.

Alleles

Alternative forms of a gene found at the same locus on homologous chromosomes.

Pangenesis

An early and incorrect theory of inheritance proposing that all parts of the body contributed to the formation of gametes.

Homunculus

An outdated theory that proposed a miniature human resides in sperm.

Blending Hypothesis

An outdated theory suggesting that offspring are a mixture of parental traits.

Quantitative Analysis

The method of analyzing inheritance patterns that focuses on the ratio of offspring phenotypes.

Dihybrid Cross

A genetic cross involving two traits, each represented by two alleles.

Binomial Expansion Equation

A mathematical formula used to calculate the probabilities of different genetic outcomes.