Principles of Inheritance

• What type of organisms are focused on in the discussion of inheritance?

  Sexually reproducing eukaryotes
• What process produces haploid gametes?

  Meiosis
• What are female gametes called?

  Eggs
• What are male gametes called?

  Sperms
• What does diploid mean in relation to zygotes?

  Two copies of every autosome
• What are homologous pairs?

  Same genes in the same location
• Who was Gregor Mendel?

  A founding scientist in genetics
• Why are pea plants good for genetic experiments?

  Short generation times and no ethical issues
• What did Mendel analyze to find patterns in inheritance?

  Large sample sizes of pea plants
• What is the P generation in Mendel's experiments?

  The parental generation
• What is the F1 generation?

  Offspring from the P generation
• What is the F2 generation?

  Offspring from crossing F1 individuals
• What does 2N represent in genetics?

  Diploid organisms with homologous pairs
• What are alleles?

  Different versions of a gene
• What is a genotype?

  Combination of alleles in an individual
• What does homozygous mean?

  Two of the same alleles
• What is homozygous recessive?

  Two recessive alleles from both parents
• What is homozygous dominant?

  Two dominant alleles from both parents
• What does heterozygous mean?

  Two different alleles
• What is the difference between genotype and phenotype?

  Genotype is genetic makeup; phenotype is observable traits
• What trait is completely controlled by genetics?

  Blood type
• How can the environment influence phenotype?

  By affecting gene expression
• What is phenotypic plasticity?

  Change in phenotype due to gene expression
• What remains constant despite changes in phenotype?

  The genotype
• What can trigger changes in gene expression?

  Environmental factors
• What is melanin?

  A skin pigment produced by UV exposure
• How does the genotype relate to continuity and change?

  Genotype is continuous; phenotype can change