Final answer:
In genetics, terms like 'allele', 'gene', 'homozygous', 'heterozygous', 'phenotype', and 'genotype' are essential for understanding how traits are passed from parents to offspring. Alleles are different versions of a gene, homozygous refers to having two identical alleles, heterozygous to having two different ones, phenotype is the observable traits, genotype is the genetic makeup, and independent assortment is the principle that alleles sort independently during meiosis.
Step-by-step explanation:
When studying genetics, it's crucial to understand several key concepts:
- Allele: A variant of a particular gene.
- Gene: A section of DNA that can have multiple forms known as alleles.
- Homozygous: An organism with two identical alleles for a particular trait (e.g., GG or gg).
- Heterozygous: An organism with two different alleles for a trait (e.g., Gg).
- Phenotype: The physical characteristics or traits of an organism, which are the expression of the alleles it carries.
- Genotype: The genetic makeup of an organism, consisting of all the alleles it carries.
- Independent Assortment: The principle that alleles for different genes assort independently from one another during meiosis, leading to genetic variation.
Here is the matching according to the definitions provided:
- b. Gene - Section of DNA (2)
- a. Allele - Variant of a particular gene (6)
- c. Homozygous - Trait with two of the same alleles (5)
- d. Heterozygous - Trait with two different alleles (1)
- e. Phenotype - Physical characteristic (8)
- f. Genotype - Group of alleles, ex. Gg or GG (3)
- g. Independent Assortment - Trait that requires 2 alleles to be displayed (7)
Genotype and phenotype are foundational concepts in genetics. The former determines the latter, and variations in phenotype are the result of different combinations of alleles (genotype).