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Science Launch G3 / Week 06 / Friday
5/6
Week 06 · Family Traits

Friday

Traits from two parents
// Like parent, like young
⏱ about 15 min

Friday: Traits From Two Parents

Rocket learns to ride a bike without training wheels. "Did I inherit this?" he jokes.

Raven laughs. "What do you notice? Did you learn it, or were you born with it?"

Nova hovers beside the bike. "Some traits come from parents," she says. "Some come from practice."

Rocket thinks hard. Riding took lots of practice!

Inherited and learned

Genes are tiny instructions inside living things.

Parents pass genes to their offspring. That is how traits are inherited.

You get some genes from each of your two parents.

Genes help shape traits like hair color and eye color.

Other things are learned, like riding a bike or reading. Learned skills are not inherited.

Trait or skillInherited?
Giraffe spot shape?
Riding a bike?
Leaf shape on a bean plant?
Knowing how to read?
WHY THIS EXERCISETraits like spot shape are inherited. Skills like reading are learned.
WEEK REVIEW
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Why do offspring look like their parents?
Two giraffe calves have the same mother but different spot patterns. This shows what?
A feature of a living thing is a ____.
The young of a plant or animal are its ____.
Facts and measurements we collect are ____.

Genes, environment or both

Some traits come from genes. Some come from the environment. Some come from both.

Freckles are inherited. But time in the sun can bring out more freckles for a while.

So freckles come from both genes and the environment.

We will learn more about the environment and traits next week.

INHERITED OR LEARNED?
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Rocket can whistle a tune after lots of practice. Is that skill learned or inherited?
A calf has round spots like its mother. Learned or inherited?
Who gives an offspring its genes?
FROM PARENTS TO OFFSPRING
  • ?The offspring look like their parents in some ways.
  • ?Parents have genes.
  • ?Parents pass genes to offspring.
  • ?The genes help shape traits.
WHY THIS EXERCISEGenes pass from parents and help shape the traits of offspring.
Tiny instructions passed from parents to offspring are called what?
WHY THIS EXERCISEGenes are tiny instructions that help shape inherited traits.
TraitCan genes help shape it?
Eye color?
Hair color?
Knowing how to read?
WHY THIS EXERCISEGenes help shape hair and eye color. Reading is a learned skill.

You are a true trait expert! Tomorrow is Launch Lab, where you go on a leaf hunt.

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