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Biology Final Vocab

Finals

TermDefinition
Gamete An organism's reproductive cells; such as sperm or egg cells.
Binary Fission The method by which prokaryotes perform cell division; a form of asexual reproduction that produces identical offspring.
Gene A segment of DNA that codes for a protein or RNA molecule.
Chromosome Superstructures of DNA tightly coiled around proteins.
Centromere The point where two chromatids of a chromosome are attached.
Homologous Chromosome Chromosomes that are similar in size, shape, and genetic content.
Diploid A cell that contains two sets of chromosomes; often represented by the symbol 2n.
Haploid A cell that contains one set of chromosomes; often represented by the symbol n.
Zygote A fertilized egg cell, the first cell of a new individual.
Autosome Chromosomes that are not directly involved in determining the sex (gender) of an individual.
Sex Chromosome Chromosomes that contain genes that will determine the sex of the individual; one of the 23 pairs in humans; the X & Y chromosomes.
Karyotype A photo of the chromosomes in a dividing cell that shows all the chromosomes arranged by size.
Cell Cycle A repeating sequence of cellular growth and division during the life of an organism.
Interphase A stage of the cell cycle that consists of phases of growth, DNA replication, and preparation for cell division; constitutes 90% of cell cycle.
Mitosis Process during cell division in which the nucleus of a cell is divided into two nuclei.
Cytokinesis The process during cell division in which the cytoplasm divides.
Cancer The uncontrolled growth of cells.
Spindle Cell structures made up of both centrioles and individual microtubule fibers that are involved in moving chromosomes during cell division.
Meiosis A form of cell division that halves the number of chromosomes when forming specialized reproductive cells, such as gametes or spores.
Crossing-Over When portions of a chromatid on one homologous chromosome are broken and exchanged with the corresponding chromatid portions of the other homologous chromosome.
Independent Assortment The random distribution of homologous chromosomes during metaphase of meiosis.
Spermatogenesis The process by which sperm are produced in male animals resulting in four equal sized and functional gametes.
Sperm The male produced gametes that develop a flagellum for a tail.
Oogenesis The process by which gametes are produced in female animals, where unequal cytokinesis creates 1 egg and 2-3 polar bodies.
Ovum The large female gamete also known as the egg.
Asexual Reproduction A single parent passes copies of all of its genes to each of its offspring; there is no fusion of haploid cells such as gametes.
Clone An organism that is genetically identical to its parent.
Sexual Reproduction Two parents each form reproductive cells that have one-half the number of chromosomes that combine by fertilization; parents give rise to haploid gametes which join to form diploid offspring.
Life Cycle The entire span in the life of an organism from one generation to the next; follows a basic pattern of alternation between the diploid and haploid chromosome numbers.
Fertilization The process of joining gametes (sperm and egg) that results in a diploid zygote.
Sporophyte The diploid phase in the life cycle that produces spores.
Spore A haploid reproductive cell produced by meiosis that is capable of developing into an adult without fusing with another cell.
Gametophyte The haploid phase that produces gametes by mitosis.
Heredity The passing of genetic traits from parent to offspring.
Genetics The science of heredity and of the mechanism by which traits are passed from parents to offspring.
Monohybrid Crossing A cross between individuals that involves one pair of contrasting traits.
True-Breeding Descbribes organisms or genotypes that are homozygous for a specific trait and thus always produce offspring that have the same phenotype for that trait
P Generation Parental generation, the first two individuals that mate in a genetic cross.
F1 Generation The first generation of offspring obtained from an experimental cross of two organisms.
F2 Generation The second generation of offspring, obtained from an experimental cross of two organisms; the offspring of the F1 generation.
Allele One of the alternative forms of a gene that governs a characteristic, such as hair color.
Dominant The expressed form of the character.
Recessive The not expressed form of the character.
Homozygous Descibres an individual that has identical alleles for a trait on both homologous chromosomes.
Heterozygous Describes and individual that has two different alleles for a trait.
Genotype The entire genetic makeup of an organism; also the combination of genes for one or more specific species.
Phenotype An organism's appearance or other detectable characteristic that results from the organism's genotype and the environment.
Law of Segregation Mendel's law that states that the pairs of homologous chromosomes separate in meiosis so that only one chromosome from each pair is present in each gamete.
Law of Independent Assortment The law that states that genes separate independently of one another in meiosis.
Punnett Square A graphic used to determine the results of a genetic cross.
Test Cross The corssing of an individual of unknown genotype with a homozygous recessive indivdual to determine the unknown genotype.
Probability The likelihood that a possible future event will occur in any given instance of the event; the mathematical ratio of the number of times one outcome of any event is likely to occur to the number of possible outcomes of the event.
Pedigree A diagram that shows the occurrence of a genetic trait in several generations of a family.
Sex-Linked Gene A trait that is determined by a gene found on one of the sexd chromosomes, such as the X chromosomes or the Y chromosomes in humans.
Polygenetic Inheritance A characteristic of an organism that is determined by many genes.
Incomplete Dominance A condition in which a trait in an individual is intermediate between the phenotype of the individual's two parents because the dominant allele is unable to express itself fully.
Multiple Alleles More than two alleles (versions of the gene) for a genetic trait.
Codominance A condition in which both alleles for a gene are fully expressed.
Vaccine A substance that is prepared from killed or weakened disease-causing agents.
Virulent Able to cause disease.
Transformation A change in genotype caused when cells take up foreign genetic material.
Bacteriophage A virus that infects bacteria.
Double Helix Two strands twisted around each other.
Nucleotide The subunits that make up DNA.
Deoxyribose The five-carbon sugar in DNA nucleotides
Base-Pairing Rules The rules that state cytosine pairs with guanine and adenine pairs with thymine in DNA, and that adenine pairs with urcal in DNA.
Complementary Base Pair A characteristic of nucleic acids in which the sequence of bases on one strand is paired to the sequence of bases on the other.
DNA Replication The process of making a copy of DNA.
DNA Helicase An enzyme that unwinds the DNA double helix during DNA replication.
Replication Fork The areas where the double helix seperates.
DNA Polymerase At the replication fork enzymes move along each of the DNA strands.
RNA A molecule made of nucleotides linked together.
Uracil The nitrogen base of RNA nucleotides.
Transcription The instructions for making a protein are transferred from a gene to an RNA molecule.
Translation Cells use two different types of RNA to read the instructions on the RNA molecule and put together the amino acids that make up the protein.
Gene Expression The entire process by which proteins are made based on the information encoded in DNA.
RNA Polymerase An enzyme that adds and links complementary RNA nucleotides during transcription.
Messenger RNA A form of RNA that carries the instructions for making a protein from a gene and delivers it to the site of translation.
Codon A three-nucleotide sequence that encodes an amino aicd or signifies a start signal or a stop signal.
Genetic Code The amino acids and "start" and "stop" signals that are coded for by each of the possible 64 mRNA codons.
Transfer RNA Single strands of RNA that temporarily carry a specific amino acid on one end.
Anticodon A three-nucleotide sequence on a tRNA that is complementary to an mRNA codon.
Ribosomal RNA RNA molecules that are part of the structure of ribosomes.
Operator The piece of DNA that overlaps the promoter site and serves as the on-off switch.
Operon A unit of gene regulation and transcription in bacterial DNA that consists of a promoter and an operator.
Lac Operon The operon that controls the metabolism of lactose.
Repressor A protein that binds to an operator and physically blocks RNA polymerase from binding to a promoter site.
Intron Long segments of nucleotides that have no coding information.
Exon The portions of a gene that are translated into proteins.
Point Mutation A single nucleotide changes.
Population All the individuals of a species that live in a specific geographical area and can interbreed.
Natural Selection Individuals that have traits which give them an advantage in their environment will survive and reproduce more than those without the trait.
Adaptation An inherited trait that has become common in a population because it gives an individual and advantage.
Reproductive Isolation A condition in which two populations of the same species cannot interbreed due to some barrier between them.
Gradualism A model of evolution in which gradual change occurs over a long period of time.
Punctuated Equilibrium A model of evolution in which periods of rapid change in species are separated by periods of little or no change.
Paleontologist Scientists who study fossils.
Vestigial Structure A structure in an organism that is reduced in size and function and that may have been complete and functional in the organism's ancestors.
Homologous Structure Structures that share a common ancestry.
Divergence The accumulation of differences between groups which leads to the formation of a new species.
Speciation The process by which new species form.
Subspecies Populations of the same species that differ genetically because of adaptations to different living conditions.
Created by: stefanseul
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