Term | Definition |
egg | the female sex cell, created in the ovaries |
sperm | the male sex cell, created in the testes |
reproduction | the process of organisms producing offspring |
asexual reproduction | a type of reproduction that involves 1 parent, and the offspring is genetically identical to the parent |
sexual reproduction | a type of reproduction that involves 2 parents, and the offspring has a combination of genes from both parents |
mitosis | cell division (one parent cell splitting to become 2 new daughter cells) |
DNA | the long molecule found in the nucleus of all cells that contains the genetic code for all traits of that organism (stands for deoxyribonucleic acid) |
genetic | relating to information about the traits of an organism (relating to the information in DNA that determines traits) |
nucleus | the organelle that is like the brain of the cell, contains the DNA |
cell | the smallest unit of life |
body cells | any cells in an organism EXCEPT egg & sperm (skin cell, brain cell, liver cell, bone cell, red blood cell, muscle cell, etc.) |
*meiosis | the special kind of cell division that creates eggs (in ovaries) or sperm (in testes) |
*gonads | the ovaries or the testes, the parts of the body where sex cells are made |
unicellular | an organism with just one cell like a bacteria, amoeba, yeast |
multicellular | organism made of many cells (snake, human, eagle, etc) |
fertilization | the process of egg joining with sperm |
zygote | a fertilized egg right after fertilization (one cell) |
embryo | unborn offspring that is still growing or developing |
offspring | scientific term for kid, baby, child, etc. |
daughter cells | the 2 cells produced in the process of cell division (by the splitting of the parent cell) |
trait | a physical feature of an organism (eye color, height, hair color, fur pattern, etc.) |
parent cell | the cell that splits to make two daughter cells during mitosis or cell division |
sex cells | egg & sperm cells, contain 1/2 the normal amount of genetic information |