heredity
the passing of traits from parent to offspring
trait
a characteristic or feature that can be passed from parent to offspring
genetics
the scientific study of heredity
purebred
an organism with two identical alleles for a specific trait
gene
a section of DNA that controls a specific trait
alleles
the different forms of a gene
dominant
an allele whose trait is always expressed when the allele is present
recessive
an allele whose trait is hidden or masked by a dominant allele
hybrid
an organism that has two different alleles for a specific trait
phenotype
an organism's physical appearance or visible traits
genotype
an organism's genetic makeup or allele combination
homozygous
a synonym for purebred
heterozygous
a synonym for hybrid
Gregor Mendel
the scientist known as the "Father of Genetics"
Walter Sutton
the scientist who developed the Chromosome Theory of Inheritance
probability
the likelihood or chance that a particular event will occur
complete (simple) dominance
when one allele is dominant and the other allele is recessive
incomplete dominance
when the dominant allele cannot completely cover the recessive allele creating a third blended phenotype
codominance
when both alleles are dominant and therefore expressed in an individual
Punnett square
a chart that shows all of the possible outcomes of a genetic cross