Day 25/26: It's Genetics!

So I have a friend named Jeanette, and she's really tall and I'm really short. And I sometimes this frustrates me a lot. I can't reach so many things.

 So sometimes I ask her, "Why are you so tall?"

And she always replies, "Jeanette-ics"

*ba-doomsh*

So, yay we're moving onto genetics, which ties into our previous chapter of molecular biology! And guess what we brought back from the dark days of middle school, that's right, Punnett Squares!

So Day 25

We took a lot of notes about the genetic process and how DNA replication ties into this. We learned quite a bit of complicated vocabulary like phenotype (trait) and genotype (gene). Most importantly, we learned the six steps to figuring out the genotype and phenotype of a trait. (It involves math….)

Step 1
Write down EVERYTHING you know.

Step 2
Write the genotype of the parents

Step 3
Gametes
Involves the Law of Segregation.
Basically, you split the two chromatids that make up the gene.

Step 4
Punnett Squares
Slap those chromatids onto that square!

Step 5
Fill in the Punnett square

Step 6
Find the ratios of the phenotype and genotype.

The next class day, we applied it. Except this time, it was with two genes, which made life slightly more difficult and involved a larger Punnett Square.

Soon, you'll get to see the result of a Thanksgiving Break project on genetic diseases. Stay tuned.

Until next time.