Science Test - 4/16

Gamete

A reproductive cell that fuses with another gamete during fertilization.

Fertilization

The process where two gamete cells fuse to form one cell, developing into a new organism.

Trait

A characteristic that is inherited from parents to offspring.

Gene

A segment of DNA that contains the instructions for building a specific protein or trait.

Allele

Different versions of a gene that can exist at a specific locus on a chromosome.

Gregor Mendel

Known as the Father of Genetics, he conducted experiments on pea plants to understand heredity.

Dominant

An allele that masks the effect of a recessive allele in a heterozygote.

Recessive

An allele that is masked by the presence of a dominant allele.

Codominance

A genetic scenario where both alleles in a heterozygote are fully expressed.

Incomplete Dominance

A genetic scenario where the phenotype of heterozygotes is intermediate between the two homozygotes.

Sex-linked traits

Traits that are associated with genes located on sex chromosomes.

Carrier

An individual who has one copy of a recessive allele but does not express the trait.

Homozygous

An organism that has two identical alleles for a specific gene.

Heterozygous

An organism that has two different alleles for a specific gene.

Genotype

The genetic makeup of an organism, represented by the alleles it possesses.

Phenotype

The observable physical or biochemical characteristics of an organism.

P generation

The parental generation in a genetic cross.

F1 generation

The first generation of offspring resulting from a cross of the P generation.

F2 generation

The second generation of offspring resulting from a cross of the F1 generation.

Probability

The likelihood of a particular genetic outcome occurring.

Meiosis

A type of cell division that reduces the chromosome number by half, resulting in four gametes.

Punnett square

A diagram used to predict the genetic combinations in offspring from a genetic cross.

Patterns of Inheritance

The various ways traits are passed from parents to offspring, including dominant/recessive, codominance, and incomplete dominance.

ABO blood type

A classification of blood based on the presence of antigens, which involves multiple alleles.

Red-green colorblindness

A common sex-linked trait that affects the ability to distinguish between red and green colors.