Many wonder why we are the way we were. How could we possibly be the product of random evolution. Over the past we have learned a little more about why we are the way we are. While studying the topic we kept our driving question in mind…
Can cousins be twins?
A simple yet complex question though of in more detail. Before we could begin you must understand some essential language. We learned about various different genetic terms and nuances.
Genotypes are what are shown in a pedigree chart. The black determines that the individual shows the recessive trait and white the dominant trait. The genotype is the trait that is shown by an individual.
Phenotype is a little trickier but can shed much more light on the probabilities of certain traits being passed down. Phenotype is the genes that the individual carries regardless of what they show.
When a parent carries 2 of the same traits they are called genotype homozygous. If they carry dominant genes they are referred as homozygous dominant and homozygous recessive when they carry recessive traits.
In the case that the parent carries one of each like the yellow pea in the photo above it is called genotype heterozygous yet dominant phenotype.
Meiosis is the reason that we can use punnett squares to help determine possibilities. By passing down potentially different traits creates diversity within your direct family. The inconsistency allows siblings to be different.
After weeks of work to understand our unit we came up with a video that both answered our driving question and explained why using the concepts we learned through the unit
