| A | B |
|---|
| genetics | the study of how traits are passed from parents to offspring, from one generation to the next |
| heredity | the passing of traits from parent to offspring |
| gamete | a male or female reproductive cell |
| allele | a different form of a single gene |
| genotype | the combination of an organism’s dominant and recessive allele for a trait |
| heterozygous | having different alleles from each parent for a particular gene |
| homozygous | having the same alleles from both parents for a particular gene |
| hybrid | the offspring produced as a result of cross-fertilization |
| phenotype | the observable traits of an organism |
| genetic code | the chemical instructions that translate genetic information |
| mutagen | a physical or chemical agent that causes mutations to occur |
| mutation | a change in the sequence of one or more nucleotides in a DNA molecule |
| RNA | a nucleic acid made of ribose rather than deoxyribose |
| centromere | the point at which sister chromatids are attached to each other |
| chromatid | one of the two identical strands of a replicated chromosome |
| chromatin | the mixture of DNA and protein that makes up a chromosome |
| somatic cell | a cell that has the full number of chromosomes for that organism |
| karyotype | a tool used by geneticists to analyze the chromosomal characteristics of an individual cell |
| codominant allele | an allele that is neither recessive nor dominant |
| genome | the total genetic material of an organism |
| sex-linked trait | a trait that is carried on the X chromosome |
