| A | B |
|---|
| characteristic | a feature of an organism; something you can observe about an organism |
| trait | observable characteristic of a living thing |
| genetic trait | observable characteristic that is inherited |
| Punnett square | a diagram that shows the possible offspring of two parents. |
| generation | a group of related organisms making up a single step in the line of descent |
| line of descent | a group of individuals related by birth--children, parents, grandparents, etc. |
| heredity | the passing of traits from parents to offspring |
| offspring | a new individual created by reporductino |
| phenotype | the observable traits of an organism passed on from parent to offspring |
| recessive allele | genetic infromatino that is not expressed when pared with a dominant form of the gene |
| dominant allele | an allele that is always expressed when it is present. |
| genotype | internal genetic coding passed on from one generation to the next |
| DNA | Molecule in cells that carries genetic information |
| allele | one of two or more forms that a gene could take. |
| Gene | segment of DNA that determines or helps to determine a trait |
| Heterozygous | having two alleles that are different. |
| Homozygous | having two alleles that are the same. |
| Hybrid | the offspring of genetically different parents. |
| inheritance | passage of genetic material from parents to offspring |
