Name ______________________________________________________________________________
Monster Genetics Lab
You have learned about many different patterns of inheritance. Some are simple dominant or recessive, as in
Mendelian traits. In this lab you will investigate how a combination of these genes work together to create an
offspring.
Part 1 Procedure:
1. Flip a coin twice to determine the genotype for each trait and record it in the data table.
Tails = allele 1, Heads = allele 2 (Example: if you flipped tails twice, your monster will have two
copies of allele 1 for his genotype.)
2. Determine the phenotype resulting from the allele pair for each trait.
3. Repeat steps 1-2 for each trait and complete the female monster’s Table 1.
4. Create your monster with the art materials. It needs to be no bigger than the size of your hand
Eye
Table 1: Genotypes & Phenotypes for Female Monster
Allele 1
Allele 2
Genotype
Two small eyes (E)
One large eye (e)
Eye Color
Red (y)
Yellow (Y)
Skin Color
Green (G)
Blue (g)
Tail Shape
Curly (C)
Straight (c)
Tail Color
Purple (P)
Orange (p)
Tail
Have one tail (T)
Have two tails (t)
Teeth
Sharp (S)
Round (s)
Feet
Four toes (F)
Two toes (f)
Horn Color
Purple (W)
White (w)
Ear shape
Pointy (R)
Round (r)
Ears
One ear (N)
Two ears (n)
Claws
Long (L)
Short (l)
Trait
Phenotype
Name ______________________________________________________________________________
Part 2 Procedure:
The female monster (described in Table 1) is married to a male monster (see Table 2 below) and they plan to
have baby monsters. They are interested in finding out the probabilities of which traits their offspring will
have.
1. Complete the same procedure in Part 1 for the Male monster
2. Remember, males determine the gender of an offspring. You will flip a coin to determine if your
monster baby will be a boy or girl. The first X chromosome is done for you.
3. Create what the male monster will look like using the art materials, again, keep it about the size of
your hand.
Table 2: Genotypes & Phenotypes for Male Monster
Trait
Allele 1
Allele 2
Eye
Two small eyes (E)
One large eye (e)
Eye Color
Red (y)
Yellow (Y)
Skin Color
Green (G)
Blue (g)
Tail Shape
Curly (C)
Straight (c)
Tail Color
Purple (P)
Orange (p)
Tail
Have one tail (T)
Have two tails (t)
Teeth
Sharp (S)
Round (s)
Feet
Four toes (F)
Two toes (f)
Horn Color
Purple (W)
White (w)
Ear shape
Pointy (R)
Round (r)
Ears
Have one ear (N)
Have two ears (n)
Claws
Long (L)
Short (l)
Gender
X Chromosome (X)
Heads= X (girl)
Tails= Y (boy)
Genotype
Phenotype
Name ______________________________________________________________________________
Part 3 Procedure:
Create Punnett squares using the genotypes of the male and female monster to predict what traits
could result from a cross between the father and mother monsters for each trait.
Eye
Skin Color
Eye Color
Tail Shape
Tail Color
Teeth
Tail
Feet
Name ______________________________________________________________________________
Horn Color
Ear Shape
Ears
Claws
Name ______________________________________________________________________________
Part 4 Procedure:
Figure out the probabilities for each of the genotypes and phenotypes below. Then circle the greatest
probable genotype. If it is split 50/50, then flip a coin to determine which genotype to choose Remember, a
phenotype can have a homozygous or heterozygous combination. If a trait is Hh or HH, it will still show the
dominant allele for hair.
Probability of: Ee_________
EE ___________ ee_________ Two small eyes _______ One Large _______
Probability of: Yy_________
YY ___________ yy_________ Red eyes _______ Yellow eyes _________
Probability of: Gg_________
GG ___________ gg______________ Green skin _______ Blue skin______
Probability of: Cc_________
CC ___________ cc______________ Curly tail _______ Straight tail ______
Probability of: Pp_________
PP___________ pp______________ Purple tail _______ Orange tail ______
Probability of: Tt_________
TT ___________ tt______________ One tail ________ Two tails ________
Probability of: Ss_________
SS ___________ ss______________ Sharp teeth ________ Round _______
Probability of: Ff_________
FF ___________ ff______________ Four toes ________ Two toes _______
Probability of: Ww_________ WW ___________ ww_________ Purple horn ________ White horn ______
Probability of: Rr_________
RR ___________ rr____________ Pointy ears ________ Round ears ______
Probability of: Nn_________
NN ___________ nn__________ One ear _________ Two ears __________
Probability of: Ll_________
LL ___________ ll______________ Long claws ________ Short claws ______
Probability of: XX _________ XY__________ Female __________ Male____________
Name ______________________________________________________________________________
Part 5 Procedure:
Fill in your Offspring (F1) DNA in the chart below based on the most likely occurring genotype you circled in
Part 4. After filling this out, you may create your baby monster with the art materials.
Trait
Eye
Allele 1
Two small eyes (E)
Allele 2
One large eye (e)
Eye Color
Red (y)
Yellow (Y)
Skin Color
Green (G)
Blue (g)
Tail Shape
Curly (C)
Straight (c)
Tail Color
Purple (P)
Orange (p)
Tail
Have one tail (T)
Have two tails (t)
Teeth
Sharp (S)
Round (s)
Feet
Four toes (F)
Two toes (f)
Horn Color
Purple (W)
White (w)
Ear shape
Pointy (R)
Round (r)
Ears
One ear (N)
Two ears (n)
Claws
Long (L)
Short (l)
Genotype
Phenotype
Name ______________________________________________________________________________
Extension Option 1:
Compare this offspring to its parents. What traits seemed to carry on through the next generation? Why?
What traits seemed to change completely? Why? List as many observations and explanations as you can.
Name ______________________________________________________________________________
Extension Option Two:
Find a partner group in the class and combine the offspring you created. This will be the grandchild of your
original female and male monster.
Eye
Skin Color
Eye Color
Tail Shape
Tail Color
Teeth
Tail
Feet
Name ______________________________________________________________________________
Horn Color
Ear Shape
Ears
Claws
Name ______________________________________________________________________________
Extension Procedure:
Again, figure out the probabilities for each of the genotypes and phenotypes below. Then circle the greatest
probable genotype. If it is split 50/50, then flip a coin to determine which genotype to choose Remember, a
phenotype can have a homozygous or heterozygous combination. If a trait is Hh or HH, it will still show the
dominant allele for hair.
Probability of: Ee_________
EE ___________ ee_________ Two small eyes _______ One Large _______
Probability of: Yy_________
YY ___________ yy_________ Red eyes _______ Yellow eyes _________
Probability of: Gg_________
GG ___________ gg______________ Green skin _______ Blue skin______
Probability of: Cc_________
CC ___________ cc______________ Curly tail _______ Straight tail ______
Probability of: Pp_________
PP___________ pp______________ Purple tail _______ Orange tail ______
Probability of: Tt_________
TT ___________ tt______________ One tail ________ Two tails ________
Probability of: Ss_________
SS ___________ ss______________ Sharp teeth ________ Round _______
Probability of: Ff_________
FF ___________ ff______________ Four toes ________ Two toes _______
Probability of: Ww_________ WW ___________ ww_________ Purple horn ________ White horn ______
Probability of: Rr_________
RR ___________ rr____________ Pointy ears ________ Round ears ______
Probability of: Nn_________
NN ___________ nn__________ One ear _________ Two ears __________
Probability of: Ll_________
LL ___________ ll______________ Long claws ________ Short claws ______
Probability of: XX _________ XY__________ Female __________ Male____________
Name ______________________________________________________________________________
Extension Procedure:
Fill in your NEW Offspring (F2) DNA in the chart below based on the most likely occurring genotype you
circled above. After filling this out, you may create your grandbaby monster with the art materials.
Trait
Eye
Allele 1
Two small eyes (E)
Allele 2
One large eye (e)
Eye Color
Red (y)
White (Y)
Skin Color
Green (G)
Blue (g)
Tail Shape
Curly (C)
Straight (c)
Tail Color
Purple (P)
Orange (p)
Tail
Have one tail (T)
Have two tail (t)
Teeth
Sharp (S)
Round (s)
Feet
Four toes (F)
Two toes (f)
Horn Color
Purple (W)
White (w)
Ear shape
Pointy (R)
Round (r)
Ears
One ear (N)
Two ears (n)
Claws
Long (L)
Short (l)
Genotype
Phenotype
Compare your NEW offspring (Offspring 2) to its’ parents (Offspring 1) and Grandparents (original male and
female monsters). What traits seemed to carry on through each generation? Why? What traits seemed to
change completely? Why? List as many observations and explanations as you can.
Name ______________________________________________________________________________
Extension Option Three:
Look at a picture of your parents and you if you brought one. If not, just think about what your parents look
like. What traits do you notice are similar? What traits are different? What traits would you guess are
dominant? Recessive? List observations, thoughts, questions, or ideas.