Inheritance key words
The language of inheritance
- Inheritance is the passing of genetic information to the next generation.
- A few key words unlock every genetics question.
Key words
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| genotype | the alleles an organism has |
| phenotype | the features you can observe |
| dominant | shown with just one copy (capital letter, e.g. B) |
| recessive | shown only with no dominant allele (small letter, b) |
| homozygous | two identical alleles (BB or bb) — pure-breeding |
| heterozygous | two different alleles (Bb) |
Practice
The genotype of an organism is:
Genotype = the alleles present; phenotype = the observable features.
Practice
A recessive allele is shown in the phenotype only when:
A recessive allele needs two copies (no dominant allele) to show; a dominant allele shows with just one.
Practice
Match each term to its genotype.
Homozygous = two identical alleles; heterozygous = two different alleles.
You've got it
Key idea
- genotype = the alleles present; phenotype = what you see
- dominant shows with one copy; recessive needs two copies
- homozygous = two same (BB/bb); heterozygous = two different (Bb)