| A | B |
|---|
| Genetics | The scientific study of heredity |
| Heredity | The passing of traits from parents to offspring |
| Trait | A characteristic that an organism can pass on to its offspring through its genes |
| Fertilization | The process in which an egg and a sperm cell join to form a new organism |
| Chromosome | Double rods of condensed chromatin; contains DNA that carries genetic information |
| Gene | The set of information that controls a trait. A segment of DNA on a chromosome that codes for a specific trait. |
| Alleles | Different forms of a gene |
| Dominant allele | An allele whose trait always shows up in the organism when the allele is present |
| Recessive allele | An allele that is masked or hidden when a dominant allele is present |
| Purebred | The offspring of many generations that have the same traits |
| Hybrid | An organism that has two different alleles for a trait; an organism that is heterozygous for a particular trait |
| Homozygous | Having two identical alleles for a trait |
| Heterozygous | Having two different alleles for a trait |
| Phenotype | An organism’s physical appearance, or visible traits |
| Genotype | An organism’s genetic makeup, or allele combination |
| P generation | The parents, or the parental generation |
| F1 generation | First filial generation. The offspring of the parental generation |
| F2 generation | Second filial generation. The offspring of the f1 |
| Probability | A number that describes how likely it is that an event will occur |
| Punnett Square | A chart that shows all the possible combinations of alleles that can result from a genetic cross. |
