Term | Definition |
heredity | the passing of genetics traits from parent to offspring |
asexual | a process of reproduction (as the dividing of one cell into two cells) |
reproduction | the process by which living things produce offspring, the act or process of copying something |
gene | one set of instructions for an inherited trait |
DNA | deoxyribonucleic acid, a molecule that is present in all living things and that contains the information that determines the traits that a living thing inherits and needs to live |
chromosomes | in a eukaryotic cell, one of the structures in the nucleus that are made up of DNA and protein, in a prokaryotic cell, the main ring of DNA |
dominant trait | the trait observed in the first generation when parents that have different traits are bred |
recessive trait | a trait that is apparent only when two recessive alleles for the same characteristic are inherited |
alleles | one of the alternative forms of a gene that governs a characteristic such as, such as hair color |
genotypes | the entire genetic makeup of an organism, also the combination of genes for one or more specific traits |
phenotypes | an organism's appearance or other detectable characteristic |
meiosis | a process in cell division during which the number of chromosomes decreases to half the original number by two divisions of the nucleus, which results in the production of sex cells |
mitosis | in eukaryotic cells, a process of cell division that forms two new nuclei, each of which has the same number of chromosomes |