Genetics Vocabulary Note-Taking Chart

Term Synonym/Explanation Example/Image/Showing Sentence Chromosomes, Compact spools of DNA in a cell’s nucleus Most humans have ______chromosomes or n. that carries the code for the organism’s 23 ______pairs (one from mom inherited characteristics. and one from dad) DNA, n. The genetic molecule in a cell’s nucleus that DNA is the abbreviation for determines the organism’s genetic traits. ______. Gene, n. A ______on a Your eye color is controlled by your chromosome that determines a particular ______. Genetic, adj. inherited characteristics-coding for a specific ______. RNA, n. The genetic molecule that transcribes DNA RNA is the abbreviation for information into a code that the cell can ______. translate into a ______. Genome, n. All the genes of an organism. Scientists have just finished______the entire human genome. Offspring, n. An animal’s or human’s young or A steelhead trout has many more offspring ______. at one time than humans do. Trait, n. A quality or ______which Having hair or fur is a trait of being a makes one thing different from another. mammal. Variation, n. Differences between things of the same There is a lot of variation in the hair color type; ______. of humans. Genotype, n. The kinds of genes (alleles) an individual The cat had a ______(tt) carries. recessive genotype. Phenotype, n. The ______expression The cat had the recessive bobtail of a gene. ______so the cats had no tails. Heredity, n. The passing of traits from parents to The heredity of the English Royal family offspring. was well known. Alleles, n. Alternate form of a gene. The alleles for You ______one allele from a trait occupy the same position on your ______and one from your homologous chromosomes. ______for each trait. Dominant, n. An inherited trait which is present even Brown eye color is ______over when inherited only from ______parent. other eye colors. Recessive, n. The form of the gene that shows up only When both parents have the recessive when inherited from ______allele for no freckles, their ______parents. may not have freckles. Probability, n. The ______of an occurrence. The student who studies has a ______probability of succeeding in school than a student who does not study.

WORD BANK: 46, both, characteristic, children, deoxyribonucleic acid, diversity, dominant, father, greater, homologous, homozygous, inherit, likelihood, mapping, mother, protein, observable, offspring, one, ribonucleic acid, trait