Front

What is an allele?

Back

An allele is a variant form of a gene that can produce different traits. For example, the gene for flower color in pea plants can have a purple allele or a white allele.

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What is a dominant allele?

Back

A dominant allele is an allele that expresses its trait even when only one copy is present in the genotype. It masks the effect of a recessive allele.

Front

What is a recessive allele?

Back

A recessive allele is an allele whose trait only shows up when no dominant allele is present. It is represented by a lowercase letter.

Front

What does homozygous mean?

Back

Homozygous refers to having two identical alleles for a particular gene, such as 'TT' or 'tt'.

Front

What does heterozygous mean?

Back

Heterozygous refers to having two different alleles for a particular gene, such as 'Tt'.

Front

What is a genotype?

Back

A genotype is the genetic makeup of an organism, represented by the alleles it possesses, such as 'DD', 'Dd', or 'dd'.

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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.

Front

What is a Punnett Square?

Back

A Punnett Square is a diagram used to predict the outcome of a genetic cross by showing the possible combinations of alleles from the parents.

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What is the purpose of a Punnett Square?

Back

The purpose of a Punnett Square is to determine the probability of an offspring inheriting particular traits from its parents.

Front

What is the difference between dominant and recessive traits?

Back

Dominant traits are expressed when at least one dominant allele is present, while recessive traits are only expressed when two recessive alleles are present.