characteristic gene, genetics heredity inherit, inherited trait

Read the introduction and look for key ideas

How much variation is shown by the students in your class?

Do you know of any families where some or all of the family members look a lot alike? What causes family members to look alike? Record your answer in your notebook.

Complete the procedure and record your data

Class results 90-100 101-120 121-140 141-160 161-180 181-200 90-100 101-120 121-140 141-160 161-180 181-200

Why should we prepare a bar graph to show the data you collected? What should the bar graph look like?

SCORING GUIDE: Organizing Data

What causes some of the variation among humans that you observed in this activity? Share your thoughts with the class.

What patterns do you see in the data for the different characteristics? What characteristics are easiest to categorize? Share your thoughts with the class.

Analysis question 1 For each of the six characteristics you studied, how many versions, or traits, are observed in your class?

Analysis question 1

Analysis question 2 Which of the traits you investigated—for eye color, tongue rolling, PTC tasting, crossing all your fingers, height, and arm span—do you think people inherit from their biological parents? Explain.

Analysis question 3 If a trait is not inherited, what else might cause it? Explain or give some examples.

Analysis question 4 If you studied more people in your community, would you expect to find more traits for each characteristic? Explain your answer.

Analysis question 5 Reflection: Who do you most look like in your family? Explain.

How much variation is shown by the students in your class?

Key vocabulary definitions Characteristic - An attribute, such as eye or hair color. Gene - A specific sequence of DNA that determines one or more traits. Heredity - The passage of the genetic information from one generation to the next.

Key vocabulary definitions Inherit, Inherited - The passage of traits from parent to offspring. Trait - A specific version of a characteristic that varies from one individual to another.

Gather data Gather data on ten more people who are not in your class and bring the results to class to add to the totals.