Mendel The Father of Genetics
Mendel Objectives
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Explain Mendel’s principles of inheritance, including examples of these principles expressed in organisms.
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Use a Punnett Square to predict the genotypes and phenotypes of offspring produced from parental crosses.
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Apply the Punnett Square technique to studying rat characteristics.
Gregor Mendel is often called the father of genetics, the study of inheritance.
Gregor Mendel observed, experimented, and analyzed data. His laws provided an accurate description of some forms of inheritance, laying the groundwork for future advancements. It took almost a century for other researchers to develop an explanation, or theory, for what Mendel was describing.
Law: Description of a natural phenomenon supported by a body of knowledge.
Theory: Explanation of a natural phenomenon supported by a body of knowledge.
This video provides an overview of Mendel and his work.
Key Terminology
Gene: the part of DNA that codes for a protein
Allele (or factor): version of a gene
Dominant: this allele’s protein is produced
Recessive: when the dominant allele is present, the recessive allele’s protein is not produced
Genotype: the combination of alleles (factors) in an organism
Phenotype: the observable traits
Portfolio Update
This video provides an update on what you can add to your final animal biology portfolio.
Next we will explore cleaning behaviors which often have a genetic basis.
Check your knowledge. Can you:
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explain Mendel’s principles of inheritance, including examples of these principles expressed in organisms?
-
use a Punnett Square to predict the genotypes and phenotypes of offspring produced from parental crosses?
-
apply the Punnett Square technique to studying rat characteristics?
Go back to the Managing Data Page
Go forward to the Cleaning & Homemaking Page
Data Analysis Lecture Guide Contents
The material from this guide and corresponding lecture is assessed on the weekly quiz.
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