Lesson 53 Inherited Characteristics part 1

In our last lesson we learned that offspring inherit their traits from their parents.

We learned organisms tend to have traits similar to their parents through genetics.

For example, you could have your mother’s hair and your father’s eyes.

We learned that these traits can be quite varied from individual to individual within a population.

We learned that some traits give an organism advantage in survival and reproduction.

Today we will discuss which genes are inherited and which ones are acquired.

Inherited traits are those passed down by your parents and are found in your genes.

Inherited traits include things like a big nose, little feet and hair color.

Acquired traits are not passed down through genes. They are traits that are “acquired” since birth.

Scars, pierced ears, length of hair and loss of limbs are all examples of acquired traits.

An acquired trait is a skill you learn to do or something you understand over time.

Riding a bike is an acquired trait because you are not born knowing how to ride a bike. You must learn how to do it.

P27i05-vTg&hd=1 Let’s watch a video which compares inherited and acquired traits.

Inherited traits are determined by the genetic makeup of each of the parents of each offspring.

Parents each carry a set of alleles. Alleles are the different forms of the same gene. So for hair color each person will carry one allele ( hair color gene)they inherited from their mother and one allele ( hair color gene)that they inherited from their father.

We have alleles from our parents for all our inherited traits. We inherit alleles for height, body shape, freckles, hair and eye color and many more things.

8Png98-jU&hd=1 Let’s watch a video about the different types of inherited traits.

Some of the alleles you receive from your parents are dominant alleles. Dominant alleles will always be present in the offspring.

Some of the alleles you receive from your parents will be recessive alleles. A recessive trait or characteristic will only be present if you inherit a recessive allele from both your mother and a your father.

y8AzwKFZE&hd=1 Let’s watch a video about the dominant traits.

Let’s review what we have learned from this lesson. Answer the attached questions on the worksheet entitled L#53 inherited traits.

In our next lesson we will learn more about dominant and recessive traits.

Good Job Today! And remember to….

See you next time!