1. Variation, genes, environment, interspecific, intraspecific.
Biology 2
17/11/2018
Variation
LO:
What is variation and what are its causes?
All
Most
Some
Be able to describe how variations in species occur.
Be able to describe the difference between environmental and inherited variation.
Be able to define the term ‘variation’.
Key words
Variation, genes, environment, interspecific, intraspecific.

2. Can you use standard English to share your opinion with the class?
BLP objective
Literacy objective
Imagining
Using your imagination to put yourself in new experiences or explore possibilities. What if?
Reasoning
Using logic and rational skills to work things out methodically – constructing good arguments.
Can you use standard English to share your opinion with the class?
Can you write your answers using standard English, scientific keywords and taking care of spellings and punctuation?
17/11/2018

3. Starter Activity What do you think the word “characteristic” means?
Have a look at the person next to you.
Can you identify some of their characteristics?
Are they the same as yours or different?

4. Characteristics
A characteristic is a feature of an organism. It can be something we can see (like hair colour) or something we can’t see (like blood group).
All humans have different combinations of characteristics, meaning we all look different.
This difference in our characteristics is called variation.

5. What characteristics?
Students shown two pictures of Mr Men and asked to identify their characteristics. i.e. Mr Sneeze has blue skin, long legs, red nose etc. Assess understanding of the term characteristic.

6. What if they had a child?
Students shown potential parents and asked to hold up their “child”. Ask students how they know that is their child – expect them to say “they have the same hair as their mother” etc. Highlight that these are inherited characteristics.

7. What if they had a child?
Students shown another set of potential parents and asked to hold up their “child”. This time, ask which characteristics they have inherited from each parent. Encourage students to use appropriate terms.

8. Who are her parents?
Students shown a child and asked who their parents are – hold up in pairs. Again discuss how they came to this conclusion.

9. Who are her parents?
Students shown a child and asked who their parents are – hold up in pairs. Again discuss how they came to this conclusion.

10. What if they had a child?
Students shown the parents for whom there is not a child in their set of cards. Ask them to discuss in pairs what they think their child would look like. Take answers as a class – highlight that they come up with many different combinations, all of which are possible. This highlights why we look different from our siblings – we inherit different combinations of characteristics (link back to variation).
N.B. With higher ability class this could lead on to a discussion about dominant and recessive characteristics.

11. Find the different variations of species in the paragraph, and highlight to show what caused the variation
On a visit to the zoo, a student saw lots of different types of big cat. In the pride of lions the males had a mane, but the females didn't. There was one lion with big scar on its face. Some of the lions were a little overweight. All the tigers had stripes, whilst the leopards had spots. Some of the leopards were larger than others.
Key
Inherited – Characteristics caused by genes found in the nucleus of all cells. Can be passed on from parents to offspring.
Environmental – Characteristics caused by influences in the surroundings. Cannot be passed on from parents to offspring.
Both – Some characteristics can be influences by both genes and the environment. Highlight these in a third colour.

12. Inherited Characteristics
These are features that we get passed down to us from our parents.
They are coded for by genes – little bits of DNA in our cells’ nuclei.
We get half of our genes from our mother and half from our father because the nuclei of their sex cells fuses together in fertilisation.

13. Are all of our characteristics inherited?

14. Environmental Characteristics
Some of our features are determined by how we live and the choices we make, for example what we eat and where we live.
These are environmental characteristics
Some characteristics can be both, for example height and weight.

15. Types of Variation There are two types of differences here.
What do you think they are?

16. Types of Variation
Interspecific variation – Variation between species.
Intraspecific variation – Variation within species.

17. Variation in Humans
Use you red, amber and green cards to categories each of the follow variations which can occur in humans.

18. Genetics, environment, or both?
Having a scar from an injury
Having a scar where a tattoo has been removed
Having red hair
Being tallest in the class
Being thinnest in the class
Suffering from cystic fibrosis
Suffering from scurvy
Having lung cancer

19. Genetics, environment, or both?
Having a scar from an injury
Having a scar where a tattoo has been removed
Having red hair
Being tallest in the class
Being thinnest in the class
Suffering from cystic fibrosis
Suffering from scurvy
Having lung cancer

20. Genetics, environment, or both?
 Having red hair
Having a scar where a tattoo has been removed
Having red hair
Being tallest in the class
Being thinnest in the class
Suffering from cystic fibrosis
Suffering from scurvy
Having lung cancer

21. Genetics, environment, or both?
 Having red hair
(it depends!)
Having a scar where a tattoo has been removed
Having red hair
Being tallest in the class
Being thinnest in the class
Suffering from cystic fibrosis
Suffering from scurvy
Having lung cancer

22. Genetics, environment, or both?
Being tallest in the class
Having a scar where a tattoo has been removed
Having red hair
Being thinnest in the class
Suffering from cystic fibrosis
Suffering from scurvy
Having lung cancer

23. Genetics, environment, or both?
Being tallest in the class
Having a scar where a tattoo has been removed
Having red hair
Being thinnest in the class
Suffering from cystic fibrosis
Suffering from scurvy
Having lung cancer

24. Genetics, environment, or both?
Being thinnest in the class
Suffering from cystic fibrosis
Suffering from scurvy
Having lung cancer

25. Genetics, environment, or both?
Being thinnest in the class
Suffering from cystic fibrosis
Suffering from scurvy
Having lung cancer

26. Genetics, environment, or both?
Having green eyes
Suffering from scurvy
Having lung cancer

27. Genetics, environment, or both?
Having green eyes
Suffering from scurvy
Having lung cancer

28. Genetics, environment, or both?
Having a tattoo
Having lung cancer

29. Genetics, environment, or both?
Having a tattoo
Having lung cancer

30. Genetics, environment, or both?
Having lung cancer
Having lung cancer

31. Genetics, environment, or both?
Having lung cancer
Having lung cancer

32. Odd One Out
Hair Colour
Weight
Blood Group

33. Odd One Out
Sporting ability
Scars
Accent

34. Key Points This lesson I have learnt:
Inherited variations are characteristics inherited from parents  
Environmental variations are variations caused by the surroundings  
Many variations are affected by both inherited and environmental factors.