1. Nature Vs. Nurture Vocabulary

2. nature (nature vs. nurture)
Definition: your genetic traits
Sentence: Some scientists say that you are shaped by nature, or the traits you received from your parents.
father
son

3. nurture (nature vs. nurture)
Definition: the environment that you are raised in
Sentence: Some scientists say that you are shaped by nurture, or the way your environment effects you.

4. breeder
Definition: someone who raises animals so that they can reproduce
Sentence: We purchased our puppy from a dog breeder.

5. chromosomes Definition: the part of a cell that contains your genes
Sentence: Humans have a total of 46 chromosomes in each of their cells!

6. sound
Definition: a narrow area of water that connects two larger areas of water
Sentence: The spill from the Exxon Valdez oil tanker had harmful effects on Prince William Sound.

7. identical (identical twins)
Definition: twins that look the same because they receive the same genes from their parents
Sentence: It is difficult to tell my neighbors apart because they are identical twins.

8. vulnerable Definition: easily harmed or affected by something
Sentence: Building a tower of cards on a wobbly table will make it very vulnerable.

9. poaching
Definition: illegally hunting, killing, or capturing wild animals
Sentence: Poaching of black rhinos led the species to extinction.

10. siblings Definition: brothers or sisters who share the same parents
Sentence: My siblings and I all have our father’s hair color.

11. fraternal (fraternal twins)
Definition: twins who receive different genes from each parent
Sentence: My cousins are fraternal twins. One is a girl and the other is a boy.

12. devastate Definition: to be very badly or completely damaged
Sentence: The flood devastated our street.

13. vengeance Definition: with great force or more effect than before
Sentence: At first it was just a light rain, but the next day the clouds came back with a vengeance.

14. grim Definition: very serious, bad, unpleasant
Sentence: When he lost his job, his future looked grim.

15. exacerbated Definition: to make a bad situation worse
Sentence: Having a fear of heights only exacerbated the already bad situation.

16. virtual (virtual twins)
Definition: twins who are the same age, live in the same house, but are not genetically related
Sentence: Scientists study virtual twins because they share the same environment.

17. litter Definition: a group of young
Sentence: There were 11 puppies in the litter of golden retrievers.

18. squelch
Definition: to stop something from continuing to develop or spread
Sentence: Due to a lack of wide life protection, the effects of poaching are hard to squelch.

19. genes Definition: traits that will determine what a person
looks and acts like
Sentence: Musical talent is in my genes.

20. DNA
Definition: a substance that makes each person unique, DNA caries genetic material.
Sentence: Scientists look for DNA samples at crimes scenes to solve the case.
DNA

21. matriarch Definition: a woman who is the leader of a family or group
Sentence: When the matriarch of the orca pod died, many whales left to join a new pod.