Essential Questions• How are characteristics passed from

parent to offspring?• What are some of the traits passed

from parent to offspring?• What is an inherited trait?• What is an instinct?

Do you see any ways that these children are similar to their

parents or brothers and sisters?

• Look around. Is anyone just like you? You and everyone else are unique. No two people are exactly alike, including identical twins.

• People in a family may have things in common. They can share traits.

• A TRAIT is simply a characteristic that one possesses – Ex. freckles, green eyes, etc.

Inherited Traits

What is Heredity?• Heredity is the passing of traits

from parent to offspring. This includes your gender.

• A packet of coiled up DNA• Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes• There are 23 pairs of chromosomes

found in the nucleus of any one of your cells

What are Chromosomes?

How are Traits Passed?

• When organisms reproduce, traits are passed from parent to offspring.

• These traits are carried in DNA, the genetic material found in a cell’s ________

• DNA acts like a blueprint.

Nucleus

Inherited Traits• INHERITED TRAITS are those traits

that are passed down from parents to their offspring. – EX. In humans- eye color, hair color,

skin color, freckles, dimples, etc. are all examples of inherited traits

– EX. In animals- eye color, fur color and texture, facial shape, etc. are examples of inherited traits.

Inherited Traits- BIG IDEA!

•Inherited traits are passed down from your

parents! – Have you ever heard someone say

“you look like your father” or “you have your mother’s eyes?”

– Some inherited traits are not so easily seen- they affect structures inside your body.

Examples of inherited traits

• This family has an inherited trait. Can you tell what it is?

They have brown hair.

Examples of inherited traits

• Some people have a genetic trait that creates indentations on their cheeks called dimples.

Inherited Traits in Plants

•Plants also pass on traits to their offspring. This could include: flower color, shape, leaf shape, and plant height.

What are some inherited traits?

• What are some inherited traits in animals? – A tiger has stripes. – A giraffe has a long neck. – An elephant has a trunk. – A snake has no legs.

Examples of inherited traits

• Look at the elephants. What traits do they have in common?

Instincts– Inherited traits include instincts. – An INSTINCT is a behavior that has

been passed on from the parents that is ready to use without learning and that does not require practice• Ex. A lion’s instinct to catch prey• Ex. Sea turtles laying eggs on the beach• Ex. Bird migration• Ex. Making a nest- birds just KNOW how to

build a nest correctly time after time

Let’s Review

• Which is not an inherited behavior?– A. dimples– B. reading– C. freckles– D. brown eyes

Let’s Review

• What are inherited behaviors called?– A. old behaviors– B. recessive traits– C. environments– D. instincts

Let’s Review

• How is hunting both learned and instinctive in animals?– A. Animals learn to hunt.– B. Animals have the instinct to hunt.– C. Animals have the instinct to hunt but

must learn hunting skills.– D. Animals have the instinct to teach

their young how to hunt.

Let’s Review

• What kind of behaviors do organisms inherit from their parents?

• A. acquired traits• B. learned behaviors• C. instincts• D. eye color

Let’s Review

• Plants make their own food through photosynthesis. Photosynthesis in plants is an example of _______.

• A. an inherited trait• B. a learned behavior• C. an acquired trait• D. a life cycle

Your assignment:Write a paragraph about at least three traits you share with your parents, brothers or sisters.

You may also choose to write about what traits someone you know shares with his or her parents, brothers or sisters.