| A | B |
|---|
| Genetics | the study of how traits are passed from parents to offspring |
| Heredity | the passing of traits from parents to offspring |
| Allele | a different form of a single genes; the letters |
| Genotype | the combination of an organism's dominant and recessive alleles 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 | when the factors are different for a trait |
| Purebred | when the factors are the same for a trait |
| Phenotype | the observable trait of an organism |
| Dominant | a characteristic that is expressed and has more influence |
| Recessive | a characteristic that is masked when the dominant is present |
| Karyotype | a tool used by geneticists to analyze the chromosomal characteristics of an individual cell |
| Genome | the total genetic material of an organism |
| Sex-linked trait | a trait that is carried on the X chromosome |
| Genetic engineering | the process used by scientists to transfer genes, or parts of DNA, from one organism to another |
| Inbreeding | the mating of closely related organisms |
| Selective breeding | the intentional crossing of plants or animals that have desirable traits to produce offspring that have those traits |
| Genes | control the traits exhibited |
| Trait | the looks, abilities, and sometime the behaviors of an organism |
| Chromosomal number | the number of chromosomes normally found in a cell |
| Punnett square | a diagram that is used to demonstrate genetic crosses |
| Incomplete dominence | a type of inheritance in which genes expressing a particular characteristic are neither dominant or recessive |
| Codominence | a type of inheritance pattern where dominant and recessive traits are both expressed |
| Multiple Gene Inheritance | a type of inheritance that takes place when 2 or more gene pairs produce a single trait |
| Carrier | the individual that possesses a gene for a specific trait even if he does not exhibit the trait |
| Inherited disorder | an abnormal characteristic passed through the genes |
| Mutation | a change in the genetic material of a cell |
| Human Genome Project | the study of the 23 pairs of human genes |
