Traits of Organisms

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STANDARDS

S5L2. Students will recognize that offspring can resemble parents in inherited traits and learned behaviors. a. Compare and contrast the characteristics of learned behaviors and of inherited traits. b. Discuss what a gene is and the role genes play in the transfer of traits.

Lesson 1: Inherited Traits and Learned Behaviors

What traits have these parents passed on to their daughter? 2

Take a minute or two to describe yourself on a sheet of paper. Be prepared to read your description to your neighbor.

You might say that you like to roller skate. Most of the people in your family might have brown eyes, but probably only a few of them like to roller skate. Your eye color came from your parents. However, you learned to like roller skating. Humans and other animals are a mix of characteristics from their parents and behaviors they learned on their own.

Do you see any resemblances between these people?

And these?

An inherited trait is a physical characteristic that is passed from parents to their babies, or offspring.

Traits include: eye, hair, and skin color. The traits also include curly or straight hair, dimples and freckles, and a tendency to be short or tall.

You probably have noticed how the people in some families tend to look alike. They might all have the same smile, for example. This is a trait that the people share. They inherited it from their parents and grandparents.

Are your ear lobes attached to the side of your head, or do they hang free? The shape of your ear lobes is an inherited trait.

Other animals have inherited traits, too, and so do plants. Two black cats are likely to have mostly black kittens. Seeds from a pink rose bush are likely to grow into more pink rose bushes. The dogs in the picture inherited their markings from their parents.

Inherited Traits and Learned Behaviors

Inherited Trait: dimplesEver looked at your toes??? INHERITED TRAIT

Hitchhiker’s Thumb

Can you curl or roll your tongue?

Inherited Traits

Hitchhiker’s Regular

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Inherited Traits and Learned BehaviorsInherited Traits

Are you right or left thumbed? Put your hands together, interlocking your fingers. Which thumb is on top?

Are your earlobes attached or unattached? Aperson with attached ear lobes will have thelowest point of the ear lobe attached to theface. A person with unattached ear lobes willnot have the lowest point of the ear lobeattached to the face.

Can you make a Vulcan hand sign like Mr.Spock does on. Star Trek? Try to spreadyour fingers into a “V”. Some people can do this easily and some people can’t!

Vulcan Earthling

Left Thumbed Right Thumbed

Attached Unattached

Other inherited traits include:• Freckles or no freckles• Curly Hair or Straight Hair• Digit hair or no hair• Right or Left Leg Crosser• Widow’s peak or no peakThe list could go on and on and on!

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Inherited Traits and Learned Behaviors

Inherited Traits

The puppies shown inherited their color and markings from their parents. 5

Inherited Traits and Learned BehaviorsInherited Behaviors

A behavior is a way of acting. Behaviors can be inherited just like traits. Inherited behaviors are called instincts. Many animals are born with instincts that help them survive.

Geese migrating to a warmer climate.

These caribou of Alaska are migrating south to warmer climates where food is more plentiful.

Hibernating bats

A hibernating chipmunk sleeping away the snow flurries.

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Inherited Traits and Learned Behaviors

Birds protect their eggs and babies by instinct. Frogs are not born with this instinct. They leave their eggs to hatch – or die – on their own.

Inherited Behaviors

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Inherited Traits and Learned BehaviorsLearned Behaviors of Humans

Helpful Not Helpful

Lots of learned behaviors help us. Can some harm us?

Inherited Traits and Learned Behaviors

Learned Behaviors of Animals

Like people, animals have learned behaviors. Raccoons learn how to open trash cans. Birds and squirrels learn where the best birdfeeders are.

Review Question 1

Which of these is an inherited trait?A. Liking the color redB. Having long fingersC. Wearing your hair in a ponytailD. Liking chocolate ice cream

B

Review Question 2

Which of these is a learned behavior?A. Having long eyelashesB. Having curly hairC. Heading south in the fallD. Liking peanut butter sandwiches

D

Review Question 3

Which of these can you change?A. Your instinctsB. Your inherited traitsC. Your learned behaviorsD. Your inherited behaviors

C*Do not read too much into this…we know in today’s world physical characteristics can be altered, but do not take that into consideration on this test.

Review Question 4

A woman is an excellent cook. Why are her children likely to become good cooks?

A. They will learn to cook by instinct.B. They will learn to cook by watching her.C. They will inherit her cooking skills.D. Cooking is an inherited trait.

B

Let’s Review!

Partner Talk: What are the differences between learned behaviors, inherited traits, and inherited instincts?

Another look at the STANDARDS…

S5L2. Students will recognize that offspring can resemble parents in inherited traits and learned behaviors. a. Compare and contrast the characteristics of learned behaviors and of inherited traits. b. Discuss what a gene is and the role genes play in the transfer of traits.

Genes and Heredity- Lesson 2• How do babies inherit their parents’ traits? • Why do robin eggs hatch into robins and not eagles? Why do mother deer have fawns

and not rabbits? • Why do daisy seeds grow into daisy plants and not rose bushes? Traits move from

parents to their offspring through genes. A gene is a tiny part of a cell that contains traits.

Genes and Heredity

• Every living thing has genes. Genes contain instructions that control the growth of that plant or animal. People have 20,000 to 30,000 different kinds of genes.

• So far, scientists have figured out the purpose of only about half of these genes. For example, every human has several genes that control hair color.

• However, the instructions inside those genes are different. Some of these genes cause people to have black hair, while other genes cause people to have red hair. Genes also cause many men to lose their hair as they grow older.

Genes and HeredityTop 10 Worst Heredity Conditions

#10 - baldness#9 – lactose intolerant

#8 - acne#7 – twins (double diaper duty)

#6 – heart disease#5 - obesity

#4 - Bullying

A gene can be inherited that increases an individuals risk for violence

#3 – color blindness #2 – breast cancer #1 - alcoholism

50% genetically determined & 50% environmentally determined

Go to Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPk_V1KkMuU to watch genetics video clips from Bill Nye, the Science Guy. Be prepared to answer questions about the video.

Genes and Heredity

Red-tailed Hawk Blue Heron

• Like other animals, birds have genes that control their size, shape, and color. For example, the genes in a hawk egg contain instructions that cause the hawk to grow a strong, hooked beak and sharp claws.

• With these, the hawk can tear apart the mice and other small animals it eats.• The genes in a heron egg contain instructions that cause the bird to grow a

long, pointed beak that helps it catch fish. • Genes also cause the heron to grow long legs for wading in the water where its

dinner swims.

Genes and HeredityPlants have genes, too!!!

• Plants have genes, too. The genes in a tree control the size, shape, and color of its leaves.

• They also control how tall the tree grows and whether or not it drops its leaves in the fall. The genes in a daisy cause it to grow long white petals around a yellow center.

Genes and HeredityHow Genes Work

• Genes come in pairs. You inherit half of your genes from your mother and the other half from your father. Each cell in your body contains 23 pairs of chromosomes. That equals 46 chromosomes in all in EACH cell in your body. In each pair of chromosomes, one is from your mother and the other from your father.

• In this way, you might inherit your mother’s dimples or your father’s curly hair. However, genes can combine in different ways. That’s why you might inherit your mom’s dimples and your sister may not.

So…how does this work? Let’s take a look at a how Punnett squares work. Go to the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mehz7tCxjSE

Discuss what you learned with a partner.

Genes and HeredityHow Genes Work

in Plants

• Plants pass their genes along in their seeds (whereas we pass ours along in our chromosomes). An acorn is a seed.

• The genes in that acorn control the seedling that grows from the acorn.

• Because of those genes, the seedling grows into an oak tree, not a redwood, a pine tree, or a daisy.

Let’s make a current, real world connection!

How are scientists using

their knowledge of

genes and heredity

today?Discuss this question in your groups.

Genes and Heredity…Changing Genes• Scientists have been experimenting with ways to remove, add, and change genes.

By changing genes, they have helped the crops grow bigger and faster. • Scientists have also found ways to help crops resist, or stand up to, certain

diseases and insects. • That means that farmers can use less chemicals to prevent disease or kill insects.

CONNECTION: Can you make a connection? Who have we learned about who also made an impact on farming and improving crops?

Genes and Heredity…Changing Genes• An example…Scientists at the UGA have identified a certain gene in cotton plants.

This gene controls how the plants use water. The scientists combined plants that need little water with plants that produce lots of cotton.

• The result: A cotton plant with new genes. It can produce lots of cotton even when the weather is very dry.

• GA farmers who grow this new cotton plant can save 12 billion gallons of water a year. That’s enough water to fill half a million swimming pools.

Genes and Heredity…Changing Genes• Scientists from the UGA are also helping to identify the genes in corn plants. Corn actually

has more genes than humans. Scientists expect to identify 50,000 to 60,000 different genes in corn!

• Corn is grown as food for people and animals. It is also used in thousands of other products, from fuel to clothing.

• Corn is a major crop in the United States and throughout the world. Learning more about the genes in corn will help scientists develop better plants. These plants will produce more corn and grow well in poor soil or with less water.

Genes and Heredity…Feeding More People

Asian farmer in rice field

African farmer examines his corn

Chinese farmer spraying crops

• Now crops with changed genes are grown in many countries around the world. These crops are helping farmers in Africa and Asia produce more food to feed the people in their towns and villages. The farmers need to use fewer chemicals on the crops. This reduces the cost of buying and spreading the chemicals. Using few chemicals also cuts down on soil and water pollution.

• In China, farmers usually spray chemicals on their crops by hand. Every year, 400-500 Chinese farmers used to die from spreading these chemicals. However, now many farmers plant cotton that can resist insects. They need to spray only one-fourth of the insect killers that they used before. As a result, many fewer farmers die of chemical poisoning.

• So…what’s the big idea? Discuss this in your groups.

• Changing the genes in plants is saving lives in many ways!

Let’s Summarize!Discuss each question

in your groups.

Review Question 1Where does an animal get its genes?A. All from its motherB. All from its fatherC. Half of its genes come from its mother and

half come from its fatherD. Most of its genes from its mother and some

of its genes come from its father

C

Review Question 2Which characteristic would NOT be passed on by

a gene?A. Pink furB. Webbed feetC. Brown scalesD. Broken wing

D

Review Question 3Why do scientists change the genes in plants so the

plants need less water?A. So there’s more water to fill swimming poolsB. So the plants can grow well during dry spellsC. So the plants can grow in the desertD. So farmers will not die from chemical poisoning

B

Review Question 4Which statement is true?A. A gene causes a trait.B. A trait causes a gene.C. A trait is learned.D. Children pass traits to their parents.

A

Discuss the Essential Questions in your

groups!

Be prepared to share!