Question

Science 7a: Introduction to Genetics
Mutations
1.What is a genetic Mutation?
a.the process of decreasing chromosome numbers to half of what the parent cells have.
b.the copying of dna to form identical daughter cells.
c.a permanent change in an organism's genetic code.
d.a fusion of egg and sperm cell to produce a new individual

Answer 1

You know it's not B because that's transcription. You know it's not A because that happens at the end of meiosis when the cells become diploid rather than haploid. You know it's not D because that is conception. Therefore, it's C. a permanent change in an organism's genetic code

Answer 2

A gene mutation is a permanent change in the DNA sequence that makes up a gene. Mutations range in size from a single DNA building block (DNA base) to a large segment of a chromosome.

Gene mutations occur in two ways: they can be inherited from a parent or acquired during a person’s lifetime. Mutations that are passed from parent to child are called hereditary mutations or germline mutations (because they are present in the egg and sperm cells, which are also called germ cells). This type of mutation is present throughout a person’s life in virtually every cell in the body.

Mutations that occur only in an egg or sperm cell, or those that occur just after fertilization, are called new (de novo) mutations. De novo mutations may explain genetic disorders in which an affected child has a mutation in every cell, but has no family history of the disorder.