1. he·red·i·ty Noun (hə red’ ə tē)

2. The genetic transmission of characteristics from parent to offspring. One's genetic constitution. The sum of the qualities and potentialities genetically derived from one's ancestors The passing of traits from parents to offspring

3. gene Noun (jēn)

4. A portion of a DNA molecule that serves as the basic unit of heredity. Genes control the characteristics that an offspring will have by transmitting information in the sequence of nucleotides on short sections of DNA. Segments of DNA that carry hereditary instructions and are passed from parent to offspring: located in chromosomes.

5. Traits

6. a distinguishing quality that can be passed from one generation to another

7. dominant trait adjective noun (Däm’ə nənt trāt)

8. In genetics, a trait that will appear in the offspring if one of the parents contributes it. Example: In humans, dark hair is a dominant trait; if one parent contributes a gene for dark hair and the other contributes a gene for light hair, the child will have dark hair.gene The trait observed when at least one dominant allele for a characteristic is inherited

9. recessive trait adjective noun (ri ses’iv trāt)

10. In genetics, a trait that must be contributed by both parents in order to appear in the offspring. Recessive traits can be carried in a person’s genes without appearing in that person. For example, a dark-haired person may have one gene for dark hair, which is a dominant trait, and one gene for light hair, which is recessive. It is thus possible for two dark-haired parents to have a light-haired child, provided each parent contributes a gene for light hair. A trait that is apparent only when two recessive alleles for the same characteristic are inherited

11. alleles noun (ə lēl’)

12. The different forms of a gene. Y and y are different alleles of the gene that determines seed color. Alleles occupy the same locus, or position, on chromosomes. Different forms of a single gene

13. genotype noun (jen’ə tīp)

14. The genetic constitution of an organism with respect to a trait. For a single trait on an autosome, an individual can be homozygous for the dominant trait, heterozygous, or homozygous for the recessive trait. Yellow seeds are dominant, but yellow seeded plants could have a genotype of either YY or Yy. The inherited combination of alleles

15. homozygous adjective (hō-mŏ-zīgəs)

16. Both alleles for a trait are the same in an individual. They can be homozygous dominant (YY), or homozygous recessive (yy).

17. heterozygous adjective (hĕt ə-rō-zīgəs)

18. Differing alleles for a trait in an individual, such as Yy.

19. phenotype noun (fē’nə-tīp’)

20. The physical appearance of an organism with respect to a trait, i.e. yellow (Y) or green (y) seeds in garden peas. The dominant trait is normally represented with a capital letter, and the recessive trait with the same lower case letter. An organism’s inherited appearance

21. Incomplete dominance

22. sometimes a trait is not completely dominant over another, however these traits do not blend, but each allele has its own degree of influence

23. Inherit

24. to receive characteristics from parents

25. Probability

26. the mathematical chance that an event will occur