Genetics Vocabulary
hybrid
An organism that has two different alleles for a trait.
dominant
An allele whose trait always shows up in the organism when it is present.
gene
The set of information that controls a trait; code in the DNA.
alleles
The different forms of a gene.
heredity
The passing of traits from parents to offspring.
purebred
The offspring of many generations that have the same traits.
trait
A characteristic that an organism can pass to offspring through genes.
genetics
The scientific study of heredity.
probability
A number that describes how likely it is that an event will occur.
phenotype
An organism’s physical appearance or visible traits.
recessive
An allele that is masked when a dominant allele is present.
codominance
A condition in which the two alleles of a gene are neither dominant nor recessive.
heterozygous
Having two different alleles for a trait.
genotype
An organism’s genetic makeup or allele combinations.
Punnett Square
A chart that shows the possible combinations of alleles that result from a genetic cross.
homozygous
Having two identical alleles for a trait.