Inheritance of Sex
- Sex is determined by an entire chromosome pair (as opposed to most other characteristics that are just determined by one or a number of genes)
- Females have the sex chromosomes XX
- Males have the sex chromosomes XY
- As only a father can pass on a Y chromosome, he is responsible for determining the sex of the child
Sperm cells determine the sex of offspring
- The inheritance of sex can be shown using a genetic diagram (known as a Punnett square), with the X and Y chromosomes taking the place of the alleles usually written in the boxes
Punnett square showing the inheritance of sex
