Genetics: What is an Allele?

What is the process by which physical and biological characteristics are transmitted from parents to offspring?

What is a characteristic that an organism can pass on to its offspring through its genes?

What do you call different forms of the same gene?

What term refers to an organism's genetic makeup or allele combinations?

What is an organism's physical appearance or visible traits called?

A homozygous organism has two different alleles for a trait.

A heterozygous organism has two identical alleles for a trait.

What is an allele whose trait always shows up in the organism when the allele is present?

What is an allele that is masked when a dominant allele is present?

Key Genetic Concepts

Inheritance: The mechanism through which traits and characteristics are passed from parents to offspring.
Trait: A distinct characteristic expressed in an organism, determined by genetic factors and passed onto future generations.

Alleles

Allele: Variant forms of a gene that arise due to mutations, affecting a gene's nucleotide sequence.
Genotype: The specific genetic constitution of an organism, representing the combination of alleles it possesses.
Phenotype: The observable physical traits or characteristics of an organism, resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment.

Genotype Variations

Homozygous: A descriptive term for organisms with two identical alleles for a specific trait, leading to consistent phenotypic expression.
Heterozygous: Refers to organisms that contain two different alleles for a trait, which can lead to varied expressivity in their phenotypes.

Allele Dominance

Dominant Allele: An allele that expresses its trait in the organism whenever present, overpowering recessive forms.
Recessive Allele: An allele whose effects are concealed when a dominant allele is present; its traits only appear when paired with another recessive allele.

This quiz explores key genetics concepts like inheritance, traits, and alleles. Test your understanding of how these terms relate to the transfer of characteristics from parents to offspring. Perfect for students learning about genetics!