Vocabulary Week 18

Nucleus – a cell structure that contains genetic material OR the center of an atom

Niche – the role of an organism in an ecosystem

Primary consumer – an organism in a food chain that eats plants

Homozygous – an organism that carries two dominant or two recessive alleles for a trait

Homeostasis – the process by which an organism maintains a stable internal environment

Heterozygous – an organism that carries both a dominant and a recessive allele for a trait

Dominant trait – the characteristic visible when at least one dominant allele is inherited (represented by a capital letter)

Recessive trait – a characteristic that is visible only when two recessive alleles for the same trait are inherited

Secondary consumer – an organism in a food chain that eats primary consumers

Phenotype – the actual physical properties of an organism such as height, weight or hair color