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7th Science Unit

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DO NOW
Answer the questions belowtry your best!
1. Explain everything you know about HEREDITY, or the passing down of traits to offspring
from parents, by using ALL of the words below:
Genotype

Phenotype

Dominant

Recessive

Allele

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2. If you have the dominant trait for brown eyes, then what will be the PHENOTYPE that you
have?
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3. Write down a genotype example that is HOMOZYGOUS dominant and recessive.
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4. If you have the heterozygous genotype ( D d ) for dark hair, then what phenotype will
you have?
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5. Letters in a genotype represent what? (Hint: it begins with the letter A.)
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6. If you can fold your tongue, does this mean at least one of your parents can as well?
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CHALLENGE QUESTION: What is albinism or being albino.
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Objective 1: KWBAT explain how offspring get traits from their parents through genotypes
and phenotypes.
Directions: UNDERLINE key facts and BOX words you dont know yet.
1.) Offspring get their genes from their parents, because they get half of Parent As DNA
and half of Parent Bs DNA. This process is called heredity.
2.) On each part of DNA there are lots of genes. The genes have alleles inside them that
carry different combinations of recessive and dominant alleles. Alleles are the different
codes or possibilities for a gene to have.
3.) Scientists use letters to describe the genotype or the specific combination of
recessive and dominant alleles inside genes. Organisms get ONE allele from Parent A and
one allele from Parent B. This is why genotypes have TWO letters to describe the alleles in
ONE gene.
EXAMPLE
Tongue folding is the dominant trait ( T ) and not being able to fold tongue is the recessive
trait ( t ).
Dominant allele letter: T

Recessive allele letter:

Possible genotypes: Tt, TT, tT, tt

Summary Box #1
Gene--_________________________________________________________________________________
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Allele:_________________________________________________________________________________
Dominant and recessive alleles:_________________________________________________________

4.) Genotypes decide the

phenotypes of an organism.
Remember, GENOTYPE
describes the GENE (notice the
Gs) and PHENOTYPE describes
the PHYSICAL traits (notice the
PHs).
5.) Offspring only show the recessive trait (phenotype) if they got a recessive allele from
each parent put into their gene. Recessive traits come from homozygous recessive
genotypes.
6.) Heterozygous or homozygous dominant genotypes always result in the expression of
the dominant allelethe dominant trait becomes the phenotype.
EXAMPLE
Dark hair is dominant trait to the recessive trait for light hair.
Homozygous Dominant

Heterozygous

Homozygous Recessive

DD (dark hair)

Dd or dD

dd (light hair)

(dark hair)

Summary Box #2
Genotype-__________________________________________________________________________________________
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Phenotype:_________________________________________________________________________________
Dominant and recessive alleles:_________________________________________________________

GUIDED PRACTICE
1. Princess Merida has the recessive trait for red hair.
The dominant trait is non-red hair.
a.) What is her phenotype? _________________________
b.) For her to have red hair, she must have two
(dominant / recessive) alleles. (Circle one)
c.) The dominant allele for non-red hair is represented
by the letter N. This means her genotype must look like ( NN / nn ). (Circle one)
d.) Since she has red hair, we can say her genotype is (homozygous recessive /
homozygous dominant).
d.) Where did Princess Merida get her genes?___________________________________________
2. Complete the table below by using the reading.
Genotype Class

Genotype Example

Dominant or Recessive
Phenotype Expressed?

Homozygous Dominant
Heterozygous
Homozygous Recessive

3. Use the reading to circle the correct term in parentheses to make the statement true.
Genes are composed of ( alleles / phenotypes) which help determine what ( DNA / traits )
an organism has. An organisms ( phenotype / genotype ) is represented by the two alleles
that an organism got from each (parent / offspring ).
4. Fill in the blanks below.
_____________________ decide what phenotype an organism will have.
The ____________________ is the physical trait an organism has because of its genotype.
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5. Use the information about a child and the alleles that were given by the childs parents
to determine the childs genotype and phenotype.
Child
Parents'
What is the
Heterozygous or
What is the
genotype?
homozygous?
phenotype?
Mark has
Parent A: N
dominant trait
for non-red hair
Parent B: n
Sarah has
Parent A: h
recessive trait for
light hairdark
Parent B: h
hair is dominant.
Bob has the
dominant trait
for tongue
rolling
Bob has
dominant trait
for no freckles.

Parent A: T

Jamir has
recessive trait for
color blindness

Parent A: r

Parent B: T
Parent A: F
Parent B: f

Parent B: r

6. Use the dominant allele letter to write a genotype that is heterozygous or homozygous.
Write down which phenotype would be expressed given the genotype.
Dominant Allele
A

What is the genotype?

Heterozygous or
homozygous?
Heterozygous

Homozygous
Recessive

Homozygous
Dominant

Heterozygous

What is the phenotype?

(Dominant or Recessive)

INDEPENDENT PRACTICE
1.) Use the information provided in the table to fill in ANYTHING missing from each column
category.
Child
Parents' Allele
What is the Heterozygous or
What is the
genotype? homozygous?
phenotype?
Mark has
dominant trait
Parent A: ______
(NN )
for non-red hair
Parent B: ______
Sarah has
dominant trait
Parent A: ______
Heterozygous
for dark hair
Parent B: ______
Bob has the
dominant trait
for tongue
rolling
Bob has
dominant trait
for no freckles.

Parent A: T

Tongue Rolling

Parent B: T
Parent A: N

Homozygous
Dominant

Parent B: _______
Jamir has
recessive trait for
color blindness

Parent A: ______

(r r)

Parent B: _______
Sierra has
dominant trait
for dimples

Parent A: ______

Heterozygous

Parent B: D
Michael has
dominant trait
for brown eyes.

Parent A: ______

(B B)

Parent B: _______
Write your own

2. If both of your parents gave you the dominant alleles for your genotype, could you
have a recessive phenotype? Explain.
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__________________________________________________

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7th Science Exit Ticket 11/17

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1. Say for example human DNA has 120 genes. What percentage of genes did you get
from your mother? What percentage did you get from your father? How many genes from
each parent? Explain!
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Child

Parents

Mark has
dominant trait
for widows
peak hairline
Sarah has
recessive trait
for light hair
Bob has the
dominant trait
for tongue
rolling

Parent A: W

What is the
genotype?

Heterozygous or
homozygous?

What is the
phenotype?

Parent B: w
Parent A: h
Parent B: h
Parent A: T
Parent B: T

3. Why do people who all have heterozygous genotypes for the same gene all have the
same phenotype? Explain!
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Extension Question:
4. If both of your parents gave you the alleles for a homozygous recessive genotype,
could have a dominant trait for a phenotype? Explain.
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