Genetics Vocabulary
The passing of traits from parents to offspring.
What is heredity?
The scientist known for studying pea plants and discovering basic patterns of inheritance.
Who is Gregor Mendel?
TT is an example of this because it shows an organism’s allele combination.
What is genotype?
This prediction tool uses the alleles from each parent to show the possible genotype and phenotype combinations of their offspring, but it does not guarantee the exact traits of every offspring.
Punnett Square
A pattern of inheritance where one allele completely hides another allele.
What is simple dominance?
An inherited trait that helps an organism survive and reproduce.
What is an adaptation?
A greenhouse has two pink snapdragon plants. In snapdragons, flower color shows incomplete dominance.
RR = red
WW = white
RW = pink
The greenhouse owner crosses the two pink plants and wants to predict the flower colors of the offspring.
To get full credit, students must identify:
What is RW x RW, producing a genotype ratio of 1 RR : 2 RW : 1 WW, a phenotype ratio of 1 red : 2 pink : 1 white, and showing incomplete dominance?
A specific form of a character, such as tall, short, red flowers, or white flowers.
What is a trait?
These are the plants Gregor Mendel used in his heredity experiments.
What are pea plants?
Tall, short, black fur, and white fur are examples of this because they are visible traits.
What are phenotypes?
In a 2x2 Punnett square, each box represents this percent chance.
What is 25%?
A pattern of inheritance where neither allele completely hides the other, so the traits blend.
What is incomplete dominance?
What is an adaptation?
What is natural selection?
The allele combination an organism has, such as TT, Tt, or tt.
What is genotype?
An organism that has two of the same alleles for a trait.
What is purebred?
If T = tall and t = short, this is the phenotype of Tt.
What is tall?
In the cross Tt x tt, this percent of offspring are expected to be tall.
What is 50%?
A pattern of inheritance where both alleles show at the same time.
What is codominance?
A random change in allele frequency in a population over time.
What is genetic drift?
The physical trait an organism shows, such as tall, short, black fur, or white fur.
What is phenotype?
An organism that has two different alleles for a trait.
What is hybrid?
If B = black fur and b = white fur, this is the genotype a white rabbit must have.
What is bb?
In the cross Bb x Bb, this is the genotype ratio.
What is 1 BB : 2 Bb : 1 bb?
Red snapdragons crossed with white snapdragons produce pink offspring.
What is incomplete dominance?
This population size usually shows the effects of genetic drift more easily.
What is a small population?
A feature category is called this, while the specific form of that feature is called a trait.
What is a character?
Mendel’s experiments showed that traits are passed from parents to offspring in these.
What are predictable patterns?
An organism showing the dominant trait could have either of these two genotype types.
What are purebred dominant or hybrid?
In the cross Bb x Bb, if black fur is dominant over white fur, this is the phenotype ratio.
What is 3 black : 1 white?
A red cow crossed with a white cow produces roan offspring with both red and white hairs showing.
What is codominance?
One happens by chance, while the other happens because helpful traits improve survival and reproduction.
What is the difference between genetic drift and natural selection?