Heredity & Genetics

hereditary material with the instructions to make an organism

The basic unit of heredity passed from parent to child; Part of DNA

the study of heredity

the passage of genetic instructions from one generation to the next

What passes genetic information onto the offspring?

receives genetic information from parents; baby, children, new organism

a characteristic

examples: hair color, eye color, height

Two different alleles for a trait (e.g., Bb, Nn, Yy)

Two identical (same) alleles for a trait. Examples: BB, NN, nn.

gene that covers up another form of the trait; the "winning" trait; shown with a capital letter