WGU C190 INTRODUCTION TO BIOLOGY
2026 COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE
PRACTICE QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
ANSWERS OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT OA
EXAM PREPARATION GRADE A+
P generation - CORRECT ANSWER -Parental generation, the first two
individuals that mate in a genetic cross
Phenotype - CORRECT ANSWER -An organism's physical appearance, or
visible traits.
Punnett Square - CORRECT ANSWER -A chart that shows all the possible
combinations of alleles that can result from a genetic cross
principle of dominance - CORRECT ANSWER -Mendel's second conclusion,
which states that some alleles are dominant and others are recessive
Recessive - CORRECT ANSWER -An allele that is masked when a dominant
allele is present
Trait - CORRECT ANSWER -Characteristics that are inherited
,true-breeding - CORRECT ANSWER -Organisms that, when reproducing,
create offspring of all the same variety.
Non-Mendelian Inheritance - CORRECT ANSWER -A type of inheritance that
does not follow strict patterns of dominant vs. recessive
incomplete dominance - CORRECT ANSWER -situation in which one allele is
not completely dominant over another
Codominance - CORRECT ANSWER -A condition in which neither of two
alleles of a gene is dominant or recessive.
sickle cell anemia - CORRECT ANSWER -hereditary disorder of abnormal
hemoglobin producing sickle-shaped erythrocytes and hemolysis
sickle cell trait - CORRECT ANSWER -symptoms shown by those possessing
a heterozygous genotype for sickle cell anemia
polygenic inheritance - CORRECT ANSWER -combined effect of two or more
genes on a single character
Epistasis - CORRECT ANSWER -Two separate genes control one trait, but
one gene masks the expression of the other gene
plietropy - CORRECT ANSWER -single genes can affect multiple
characteristics
,Phenylketonuria (PKU) - CORRECT ANSWER -inherited disorder in which
the infant lacks a liver enzyme
multifactorial - CORRECT ANSWER -Referring to a phenotypic character
that is influenced by multiple genes and environmental factors.
norm of reaction - CORRECT ANSWER -The range of phenotypes produced
by a single genotype, due to environmental influences.
autosomal chromosome - CORRECT ANSWER -22 chromosome pairs that
control traits NOT related to gender--same in females and males.
Autosome - CORRECT ANSWER -A chromosome that is not directly involved
in determining sex, as opposed to a sex chromosome.
Karyotype - CORRECT ANSWER -A display of the chromosome pairs of a cell
arranged by size and shape.
Aneuploidy - CORRECT ANSWER -Abnormal number of chromosomes
Progeria - CORRECT ANSWER -condition of premature old age occuring in
childhood
Nucleotide - CORRECT ANSWER -in a nucleic-acid chain, a subunit that
consists of a sugar, a phosphate, and a nitrogenous base
, Genes - CORRECT ANSWER -DNA segments that serve as the key functional
units in hereditary transmission.
Transfer RNA - CORRECT ANSWER -type of RNA molecule that transfers
amino acids to ribosomes during protein synthesis
Ribosomal RNA - CORRECT ANSWER -type of RNA that combines with
proteins to form ribosomes
Translation - CORRECT ANSWER -Process by which mRNA is decoded and a
protein is produced
Purine - CORRECT ANSWER -double-ring nitrogenous base
Pyrimidine - CORRECT ANSWER -single-ring nitrogenous base
tumor suppressor gene - CORRECT ANSWER -a gene that codes for regulator
proteins that prevent the cell from undergoing uncontrolled division
biological evolution - CORRECT ANSWER -the change over time in
populations of related organisms
Microevolution - CORRECT ANSWER -evolutionary change within a species
or small group of organisms, especially over a short period.
2026 COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE
PRACTICE QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
ANSWERS OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT OA
EXAM PREPARATION GRADE A+
P generation - CORRECT ANSWER -Parental generation, the first two
individuals that mate in a genetic cross
Phenotype - CORRECT ANSWER -An organism's physical appearance, or
visible traits.
Punnett Square - CORRECT ANSWER -A chart that shows all the possible
combinations of alleles that can result from a genetic cross
principle of dominance - CORRECT ANSWER -Mendel's second conclusion,
which states that some alleles are dominant and others are recessive
Recessive - CORRECT ANSWER -An allele that is masked when a dominant
allele is present
Trait - CORRECT ANSWER -Characteristics that are inherited
,true-breeding - CORRECT ANSWER -Organisms that, when reproducing,
create offspring of all the same variety.
Non-Mendelian Inheritance - CORRECT ANSWER -A type of inheritance that
does not follow strict patterns of dominant vs. recessive
incomplete dominance - CORRECT ANSWER -situation in which one allele is
not completely dominant over another
Codominance - CORRECT ANSWER -A condition in which neither of two
alleles of a gene is dominant or recessive.
sickle cell anemia - CORRECT ANSWER -hereditary disorder of abnormal
hemoglobin producing sickle-shaped erythrocytes and hemolysis
sickle cell trait - CORRECT ANSWER -symptoms shown by those possessing
a heterozygous genotype for sickle cell anemia
polygenic inheritance - CORRECT ANSWER -combined effect of two or more
genes on a single character
Epistasis - CORRECT ANSWER -Two separate genes control one trait, but
one gene masks the expression of the other gene
plietropy - CORRECT ANSWER -single genes can affect multiple
characteristics
,Phenylketonuria (PKU) - CORRECT ANSWER -inherited disorder in which
the infant lacks a liver enzyme
multifactorial - CORRECT ANSWER -Referring to a phenotypic character
that is influenced by multiple genes and environmental factors.
norm of reaction - CORRECT ANSWER -The range of phenotypes produced
by a single genotype, due to environmental influences.
autosomal chromosome - CORRECT ANSWER -22 chromosome pairs that
control traits NOT related to gender--same in females and males.
Autosome - CORRECT ANSWER -A chromosome that is not directly involved
in determining sex, as opposed to a sex chromosome.
Karyotype - CORRECT ANSWER -A display of the chromosome pairs of a cell
arranged by size and shape.
Aneuploidy - CORRECT ANSWER -Abnormal number of chromosomes
Progeria - CORRECT ANSWER -condition of premature old age occuring in
childhood
Nucleotide - CORRECT ANSWER -in a nucleic-acid chain, a subunit that
consists of a sugar, a phosphate, and a nitrogenous base
, Genes - CORRECT ANSWER -DNA segments that serve as the key functional
units in hereditary transmission.
Transfer RNA - CORRECT ANSWER -type of RNA molecule that transfers
amino acids to ribosomes during protein synthesis
Ribosomal RNA - CORRECT ANSWER -type of RNA that combines with
proteins to form ribosomes
Translation - CORRECT ANSWER -Process by which mRNA is decoded and a
protein is produced
Purine - CORRECT ANSWER -double-ring nitrogenous base
Pyrimidine - CORRECT ANSWER -single-ring nitrogenous base
tumor suppressor gene - CORRECT ANSWER -a gene that codes for regulator
proteins that prevent the cell from undergoing uncontrolled division
biological evolution - CORRECT ANSWER -the change over time in
populations of related organisms
Microevolution - CORRECT ANSWER -evolutionary change within a species
or small group of organisms, especially over a short period.
