Laws of Inheritance - The Basics
Think of genes as instruction manuals that determine your traits, like eye color or height. Each gene comes in different versions called alleles, which are represented by letters (like A, B, or C).
You inherit two copies of each gene - one from each parent. When both copies are identical (like AA or aa), you're homozygous for that gene. When they're different (like Aa), you're heterozygous, making you a hybrid who can pass either version to your kids.
Dominant alleles (capital letters) are like bossy genes that always get their way, while recessive alleles (lowercase letters) only show up when there's no dominant allele around to mask them. This is called complete dominance. For example, if A = straight hair and a = curly hair, someone with Aa would have straight hair because the dominant A masks the recessive a.
Quick Tip: Remember that dominant doesn't mean "better" or "more common" - it just means that allele's trait shows up even when paired with a recessive allele!