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| DNA | Molecule usually found in the nucleus of a cell that has the genetic material that decides the traits of living things and passes those instructions from parent to child |
| Chromosomes | Packaged up DNA that is ready to be copied |
| Interphase | First and longest part of the cell cycle where the cell grows in size and an exact copy of the DNA is made so the cell has 2 identical copies; getting ready stage before mitosis starts |
| Mitosis | Part of the cell cycle where the nucleus of a cell splits in half with identical copies of the duplicated DNA moving to each new nucleus; contains the 4 phases prophase, metaphase, anaphase, & telophase |
| Cytokinesis | Last part of the cell cycle where the cell membrane separates the cytoplasm and creates two identical daughter cells; clean-up phase of the cell cycle |
| Prophase | Second step of mitosis where the chromosomes line up on the sFirst step of mitosis where the nuclear membrane disappears, centrioles appear in the animal cell, and a spindle forms in the cellpindle in the middle of the cell |
| Metaphase | Second step of mitosis where the chromosomes line up on the spindle in the middle of the cell |
| Anaphase | Third step of mitosis where the cell lengthens and the chromosomes start to move to opposite ends of the cell |
| Telophase | Fourth step of mitosis where the nuclear membrane reforms around the chromosomes, centrioles and spindle disappear, and the cell membrane begins to pinch together in the middle to separate the cytoplasm |
| Meiosis | Special type of cell division where cells are created that have half the number of chromosomes from the original cell; creates the sex cells or gametes |
| Homologous chromosomes | Chromosome pairs that have the same structure and size and carry the genes for the same traits; the regular sets of chromosomes, not including the sex chromosomes |
| Sex chromosomes | X and Y chromosomes that control gender and are not homologous, or the same; the female X chromosome is much longer and has different traits than the male’s shorter Y chromosome |
| Gamete | Sex cell, either the sperm (male) or egg cell (female) |
| Zygote | Fertilized sex cell; cell where the sperm and egg cell have joined and combined their DNA to create a cell that has the complete number of chromosomes needed for life to be created through sexual reproduction; this is what grows into the baby |
| Asexual reproduction | Type of reproduction where the parent organism makes an exact copy of itself for an offspring, the baby has the exact DNA as the parent |
| Binary fission | Type of asexual reproduction done by prokaryotes, or unicellular organisms that don’t have a nucleus; the cell divides into two exactly identical cells with the same DNA |
| Budding | Type of asexual reproduction where the baby grows off the side of the parent and is an identical copy of the parent, with the same DNA; done by hydra, yeasts |
| Sexual reproduction | Type of reproduction that uses sex cells; each parent contributes half their DNA to the baby through their sex cells; the child is a combination of both parent’s DNA making it different from both of them |
| Fertilization | Process where the sperm cell and egg cell combine to make a new cell called the zygote, or fertilized egg cell |
| Egg cell | Female sex cell; has half the number of chromosomes as the body cells |
| Sperm cell | Male sex cell; has half the number of chromosomes as the body cells |
| Heredity | The study of genetics, or the passing on of traits from parent to child |
| Gene | Segments of DNA found on chromosomes that give instructions for making the traits look a certain way |
| Allele | Different versions of a gene |
| Genotype | Combination of alleles (or letters) you have for a certain trait; ex: BB, Tt, rr |
| Phenotype | The physical features, or appearance of the trait; ex: long hair, green color pea, curly hair, freckles, red petals |
| Dominant | The stronger of the two alleles, it will hide or mask the other allele if it is there; the bully gene; always written with a capital letter |
| Trait | Characteristics, or different forms of a gene; ex: hair color, eye color, height, shape of the leaf, length of the cat’s hair, length of the tail, |
| Gregor Mendel | Father of Genetics, he worked with pea plants to figure out how traits were passed down from one generation to the next |
| Purebred | Genotype that has two dominant or two recessive alleles for the trait; ex: bb or RR; also called homozygous |
| Hybrid | Genotype that has one dominant and one recessive allele for the trait; ex: Bb or Rr; also called heterozygous |
| Heterozygous | Genotype that has one dominant and one recessive allele for the trait; ex: Bb or Rr; also called hybrid |
| Homozygous | Genotype that has two dominant or two recessive alleles for the trait; ex: bb or RR; also called purebred |
| Recessive | Weaker allele in the genotype, it will be hidden by the strong allele unless there are two of them; always written with the lower case letter – bb, tt, ee |
| Incomplete dominance | Process where both alleles are equally dominant and they mix together to form a new phenotype, or physical feature, that is different from both parents |
| Codominance | Process where both alleles are equally dominant and they both show up in the offspring’s phenotype or physical features |
| Complete dominance | Process where the dominant allele hides the recessive allele and the phenotype or physical features for the offspring are the dominant trait |
| Punnett square | Chart used to predict the possible genotypes of the babies in a cross between two specific parents |
| Pedigree chart | Chart used to show how a specific trait has been passed down for many generations |
| Probability | Mathematical chance of a specific outcome happening; ex: 50% chance a homozygous offspring in this cross |
| Sex-lined trait | Trait that is on the sex chromosome, the X or Y chromosome |
| Carrier | Being heterozygous or hybrid for a trait, you have one recessive allele for the trait so you don’t have the disease but you can pass it down to your children |
| Rosalind Franklin | Scientists that took the first X-ray picture of DNA |
| James Watson & Francis Crick | Scientists that used the stolen X-ray picture of DNA to figure out the double helix structure of the DNA strand |
| Double helix | Shape of the DNA strand |
| RNA | Ribonucleic acid; single strand that can leave the nucleus in the form of ribosomes to give instructions to different parts of the cell |
| Biotechnology | Using different means to make an offspring have the traits you want; ex: selective breeding, genetic engineering, cloning |
| Artificial selection | Process of selecting and breeding organism that have the trait you want or don’t have the trait you don’t want passed down; also known as selective breeding |
| Genetic engineering | Process where DNA is modified, or changed, for use in research, making medicine, growing crops (agriculture), or industry; scientist go in and change the DNA of an organism for a specific reason |
| Clone | Organism or part of an organism that is genetically identical to the original organism or part |
| Selective breeding | Process of selecting and breeding organism that have the trait you want or don’t have the trait you don’t want passed down; also known as artificial selection |
