| A | B |
|---|
| traits that are present in all members of a certain species of organism (all humans have two eyes; all clams have no eyes) | species characteristics |
| traits within a species of organism that can vary from one member to another (examples: eye color, hair texture, etc) | individual characteristics |
| the study of heredity | genetics |
| a section of DNA that codes for the production of a certain protein (or polypeptide) which causes a particular trait to occur in that organism | gene |
| a long strand of DNA, (all humans have 46 such strands in the nucleus of every body cell), and each strand has many genes along the length of it | chromosome |
| a type of protein that keeps the DNA of a chromosome in its tightly coiled shape most of the time | histone |
| one of the two identical DNA strands that make up one chromosome (when the chromosome is not yet separated in the upcoming cell division) | chromatid |
| the attachment point where two identical chromatids are held together | centromere |
| an illustration in which all the chromosomes in a cell are neatly arranged according to their size | karyotype |
| two chromosomes that have the exact kinds of genes (alleles) in the same order; one originated from the female parent and the other from the male parent | homologous pair of chromosomes |
| one member of a homologuos pair of chromosomes; in organisms that reproduce sexually and have 2 parents, every chromosome will have its homologue | homologue |
| the condition of having homologous pairs of chromosomes; this condition is particular to all normal body cells in an organism | diploid |
| the condition of having only one homologue of each homologuous pair of chromosomes; this is the particular characteristic of sex cells or gametes (egg & sperm cells) | haploid |
