Biology Vocabulary, Week 10

Diffusion: the movement of molecules from a region

of high concentration to a region of low
concentration
Osmosis: the movement of water across a membrane
from higher to lower concentration
Active Transport: the use of energy by a cell to
move substances across the membrane
Protein Synthesis: the process of building proteins at
the ribosome; also called translation
Plasma (cell) membrane: phospholipid bilayer that
regulates what enters and leaves a cell
Biology Vocabulary, Week 11
Nucleus- membrane-bound organelle in
eukaryotic cells that stores DNA
Reproduction- the biological process by which
new individual organisms are produced
Gamete- sex cell (sperm or egg) with ½ the
chromosome number
Zygote- the cell that results when a sperm
fertilizes an egg
Embryo- early stage in multicellular
organism’s development after the zygote
begins to divide
Biology Vocabulary, Week 12
Asexual reproduction- an organism creates a
genetically identical copy of itself without
contribution of genes from another individual
Sexual reproduction- organisms create
descendents that have a combination of
genetic material from two separate individuals
Ribosome- organelle that is the site of protein
synthesis
Heredity- the transfer of characteristics from
parents to offspring
Mitosis- process by which a cell copies its
genetic material and then splits into two
Biology Vocabulary, Week 13
Chromosome- a condensed piece of DNA
surrounded by histone proteins; forms prior to
mitosis
Dominant- allele that is always expressed in the
phenotype
Recessive- allele that is masked by a dominant
allele and that is only expressed when two copies
are present
Heterozygous- having two different alleles for a
trait
Homozygous- having two of the same alleles for a
trait
Biology Vocabulary, Week 14
Gene- piece of DNA or RNA that directs the
physical development and behavior of an organism
Codominant-when neither allele is dominant, and
both are expressed in a phenotype
Genotype- genetic makeup of an organism
Phenotype- physical appearance of an organism
due to its genes
DNA fingerprint- pattern of dark bands on an
agarose gel that is unique to every individual; used
to distinguish among different DNA samples
Biology Vocabulary, Week 15
Punnett square- tool used to show the possible
outcomes of a genetic cross
Monohybrid cross- a genetic cross between two
individuals tracking the inheritance of a single trait
in the offspring
Polygenic trait- trait controlled by multiple genes in
combination (skin color, eye color)
Pedigree- chart that tracks a particular trait through
several generations of a family
Genetic engineering- the process of manipulating
genes so that a different protein is made
Biology Vocabulary, Week 16
Meiosis: a process of cell division that reduces
the number of chromosomes by 1/2
DNA replication: the copying of DNA before
cell division
DNA sequence: the order of bases in a linear
chain of DNA
Recombinant DNA: an artificial DNA sequence
created by combining two different pieces of
DNA
Sex-linked traits: traits that are the result of
genes located on the X chromosome
Biology Vocabulary, Week 17
Mendel’s Law of Segregation: principle that states that during
gamete formation, each new gamete gets one copy of each
chromosome

Mendel’s Law of Independent Assortment: principle that states

that one gene’s inheritance is not affected by another

Species: a reproductively isolated population that shares a

common gene pool

Transcription: the process of transferring the information of

DNA to messenger RNA

Trait: genetically inherited feature of an organism

Biology Vocabulary, Week 18
Deletion mutation- a mutation that results from the
loss of a base or bases of DNA
Insertion mutation- a mutation that results from the
addition of a base or bases of DNA
Substitution mutation- a mutation that results from
changing a base or bases to another
Transfer RNA- genetic material that brings amino
acids to the ribosome during protein synthesis
Messenger RNA- genetic material that brings the
instructions of DNA to the ribosome during protein
synthesis