Gregor Mendel's pea plant experiments in the mid-19th century laid the groundwork for genetics by demonstrating that traits are passed from parents to offspring via discrete units of inheritance called genes. The document defines genetic terminology like alleles, genotypes, phenotypes, dominant/recessive traits, and describes Mendel's laws of segregation and independent assortment. It also discusses sex-linked inheritance and variations like incomplete dominance and polygenic traits. Common human genetic disorders are reviewed including examples like sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis, and Duchenne muscular dystrophy.