Genetics and Heredity

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What is genetics?

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Genetics is the study of heredity and the variation of inherited characteristics.

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What is heredity?

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Heredity is the passing of traits from parents to offspring.

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What is a genotype?

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A genotype is the genetic makeup of an organism, represented by letters (e.g., AA, Aa, aa).

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What is a phenotype?

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A phenotype is the observable physical or biochemical characteristics of an organism, determined by its genotype.

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What does homozygous mean?

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Homozygous refers to having two identical alleles for a particular gene (e.g., AA or aa).

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What does heterozygous mean?

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Heterozygous refers to having two different alleles for a particular gene (e.g., Aa).

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What is a dominant allele?

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A dominant allele is an allele that expresses its trait even when only one copy is present (e.g., F in Ff).

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What is a recessive allele?

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A recessive allele is an allele that expresses its trait only when two copies are present (e.g., ff).

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What is a Punnett square?

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A Punnett square is a diagram used to predict the genotypes of offspring from two parents.

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What does it mean if a trait is expressed?

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If a trait is expressed, it means that the phenotype associated with that trait is visible in the organism.