1. Genetics 101 Welcome to everything you wanted to know about Genetics!

2. Genetics…  is the study of genes, heredity, and variation among living organisms.  It is studied through biology.

3. Remember…  Traits vary in a population…this is the key to species survival!  Offspring resemble their parents and this is from the passing of genetic information.

4. Inheritance  Passing genetic information from one generation to the next. Offspring inherit alleles from their parents.

5. Gregor Mendel  Conducted pioneering work with inheritance.  Most important work was done with pea plants…he studied the trait of flower color.  He realized that plants did not combine colors (i.e. purple + white did not give a pale lavender color, but the plant was either white or purple). Why?  The answer…genes!

7. Animal Cell  Every living thing is made of cells.  Cells have organelles and one organelle is the nucleus (center part of a cell).  Inside the nucleus is DNA.  DNA = an inheritance messenger; a huge molecule containing millions of atoms; DNA is coiled into chromosomes in the nucleus  Chromosomes = structures that carry the message of inheritance

11. Alleles  allele = specific active location on a chromosome

12. Genes  Gene = two alleles on the paired chromosome working together; a pair of alleles!

13. Big Ideas!  1. Nuclei contain chromosomes.  2. Chromosomes come in almost identical pairs.  3. Chromosomes have specific active locations called alleles.  4. The two alleles in identical locations on paired chromosomes constitute a gene.  5. A gene (two alleles working together) controls a trait.

14. Genotype  Genotype = combination of alleles in an organism’s chromosomes  AA, Aa, or aa, are all genotypes.

15. Phenotype  Phenotype = what trait is expressed in an organism  It’s what they look like!  The traits that the genotype produce is the organism’s phenotype!

16. Dominant  Dominant Alleles = more influential alleles; represented by an uppercase letter  AA or Aa

17. Recessive  Recessive Alleles = less influential alleles; represented by a lowercase letter  Aa or aa  Examples: blonde or red hair, blue or green eyes

18. Reading Assignment!  With another person at your table group, you will:  Partner read pages 46 through 55.  Under each green heading, you will write down 2-3 things you learned in your Science Notebook!

19. From Genotype to Phenotype!  Decode the genotype to produce the Larkey’s phenotype!