2. What is Genetics? Genetics is the scientific study of heredity

3. What is a Trait? A trait is a specific characteristic that varies from one individual to another. Examples: Brown hair, blue eyes, tall, curly

4. What is an Allele? Alleles are the different possibilities for a given trait. Every trait has at least two alleles (one from the mother and one from the father) Example: Eye color – Brown, blue, green, hazel Examples of Alleles: A = Brown Eyes a = Blue Eyes B = Green Eyes b = Hazel Eyes

5. What are Genes? Genes are the sequence of DNA that codes for a protein and thus determines a trait.

6. Dominant vs. Recessive Dominant - Masks the other trait; the trait that shows if present Represented by a capital letter Recessive – An organism with a recessive allele for a particular trait will only exhibit that trait when the dominant allele is not present; Will only show if both alleles are present Represented by a lower case letter R r

7. Dominant & Recessive Practice TT - Represent offspring with straight hair Tt - Represent offspring with straight hair tt - Represents offspring with curly hair T – straight hair t - curly hair

8. Genotype vs. Phenotype Genotype – The genetic makeup of an organism; The gene (or allele) combination an organism has. Example: Tt, ss, GG, Ww Phenotype – The physical characteristics of an organism; The way an organism looks Example: Curly hair, straight hair, blue eyes, tall, green

9. Homozygous vs. Heterozygous Homozygous – Term used to refer to an organism that has two identical alleles for a particular trait (TT or tt) Heterozygous - Term used to refer to an organism that has two different alleles for the same trait (Tt) RR Rr rr

10. Punnett Squares Punnett Square – Diagram showing the gene combinations that might result from a genetic cross Used to calculate the probability of inheriting a particular trait Probability – The chance that a given event will occur

11. Punnett Square Parent Offspring

12. How to Complete a Punnett Square