Lesson 3 of 8
Heredity
Goal: Describe how genetic information passes from parents to offspring.
Heredity is the passing of genetic information from one generation to the next.
- Genes carry the information. They are on the chromosomes, in the nucleus of a cell.
- Half comes from each parent. An egg carries half the mother’s number of chromosomes, and a sperm carries half the father’s. At fertilisation they join, so the new cell has a full set. In humans that is 23 + 23 = 46.
- Every egg and every sperm is different. Each one carries its own mix of the parent’s genes. That is why brothers and sisters look alike but not identical.
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Key words in this lesson
Heredity The passing of genetic information from one generation to the next
Chromosome A thread of tightly coiled DNA that carries many genes
Gene A section of DNA that controls an inherited feature