Flashcards on DNA, Meiosis, and Reproduction

DNA, Meiosis, and Reproduction: A Student's Guide to Genetics

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Who is regarded as the father of genetics and what organism did he study?

Gregor Mendel, an Austrian monk, is regarded as the father of genetics for his work on garden pea plants.

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Genetics & Molecular Biology: Inheritance & Mendelian Genetics

209 cards

Card 1

Question: Who is regarded as the father of genetics and what organism did he study?

Answer: Gregor Mendel, an Austrian monk, is regarded as the father of genetics for his work on garden pea plants.

Card 2

Question: List the seven pea traits Mendel observed as inherited.

Answer: Seed shape, seed colour, pod shape, pod colour, flower colour, flower position (axial or terminal), and stem length.

Card 3

Question: What were the two height forms Mendel noticed in peas and how are they denoted genetically?

Answer: Tall (T) and short/dwarf (t); tall is denoted by the dominant allele T and short by recessive allele t.

Card 4

Question: What was the result when Mendel cross-pollinated a true-breeding tall pea with a true-breeding short pea (P generation → F1)?

Answer: All F1 offspring were tall and had the genotype Tt.

Card 5

Question: What happened when Mendel interbred the F1 peas to produce the F2 generation?

Answer: The F2 generation showed both tall and short peas in a phenotypic ratio of 3 tall : 1 short; genotypic ratio TT : Tt : tt = 1 : 2 : 1.

Card 6

Question: State Mendel’s First Law (Law of Segregation).

Answer: Each trait is controlled by two factors (alleles) on homologous chromosomes; during gamete formation the alleles segregate so each gamete contains one

Card 7

Question: State Mendel’s Second Law (Law of Dominance).

Answer: Some alleles are dominant and others recessive; when paired (heterozygous), the dominant allele determines the phenotype while the recessive is masked

Card 8

Question: State Mendel’s Third Law (Law of Independent Assortment).

Answer: Alleles of different genes assort independently into gametes due to random arrangement of chromosomes during meiosis, allowing different combinations

Card 9

Question: What is the difference between homozygous and heterozygous?

Answer: Homozygous means the two alleles for a gene are identical; heterozygous means the two alleles are different.

Card 10

Question: How are alleles conventionally represented in genetic diagrams?

Answer: Dominant alleles are shown with capital letters and recessive alleles with lowercase letters; P denotes the parent generation.