Question | Answer |
DNA | Molecule in the nucleus of a cell that contains instructions for how to make proteins (and how to run the cell) (DNA is the abbreviation for Deocyribo Nucleic Acid) |
Double helix | A twisted spiral staircase...the shape of DNA |
Nitrogen bases (nucleotides) | Molecules that make up the "steps" in the DNA "ladder", there are four: adenine paired with thymine, and cytosine paired with guanine |
Triplet | A group of three nitrogen bases that are the code for a specific amino acid |
Gene | A sequence of triplets which all together are the code for one protein |
Mutation | A permanent change in a gene that causes a protein to be made incorrectly |
Genome | All the DNA in the nucleus of an organism's cell(s) |
Genetics | The study of how traits are inherited |
Heredity | Passing of traits from parents to offspring |
Trait | A characteristic that is caused by genes |
Allele | Different versions of a gene that cause the variations of a trait |
Dominant | The form of a gene that covers up (dominates) the weaker form of a gene |
Recessive | The form of a gene that gets covered up if the dominant form of the gene is present |
Punnett Square | A tool to predict possible offspring's genes based on parents' genes (invented by Reginald Punnett 50 years after Mendel's studies) |
Homozygous | When both alleles in a pair are the same (both dominant or both recessive) |
Heterozygous | When the two alleles in a pair are different (one is dominant and one is recessive) |
Genotype | A pair of capital and/or lower case letters to represent an organism's genetic makeup |
Phenotype | The physical trait that shows up because of an organism's genotype |
Probability | A measurement of the chance (liklihood) of an event happening |
Independent | When the chance of of one event happening does not affect the chance of another event happening |