CURRICULUM TOOL: HEREDITY
NYS Living Environment Core Curriculum Standard 4:
Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the
physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science.
Key Idea 4 Organisms inherit genetic information in a variety of ways that result in continuity of
structure and function between parents and offspring.
 Genes are inherited, but their expression can be modified by interactions with the
environment.
 Every organism requires a set of coded instructions for specifying its traits. For offspring
to resemble their parents, there must be a reliable way to transfer information from one
generation to the next. Heredity is the passage of these instructions from one generation to
another.
 Heriditary information is contained in genes, located in the chromosomes of each cell. An
inherited trait of an individual can be determined by one or by many genes, and a single
gene can influence more than one trait. A human cell contains many thousands of
different genes in its nucleus.
 In asexually reproducing organisms, all genes comes from a single parent. Asexually
produced offspring are normally genetically identical to the parent.
 In sexually reproducing organisms, the new individual receives half of the genetic
information from its mother (via the egg) and half from its father (via the sperm).
Sexually produced offspring often resemble, but are not identical to, either of their parents.
Curriculum-Based Questions
 How did Mendel experiment with pea
plants?
 What is the difference between a trait and a
character?
 Describe the relationship between heredity
and the environment.
 Explain the boxes inside a Punnett square.
 How can you identify a sex-linked trait?
Key Vocabulary: cell division, asexual reproduction, sexual
reproduction, parent, offspring, chromosomes, chromatin, cell cycle,
DNA, prokaryotes, eukaryotes, apoptosis, growth, gametes, diploid,
haploid, character, trait, generation, hybrid, allele, dominant, recessive,
phenotype, genotype, homozygous, heterozygous, Punnet square,
probability, pedigree, disorder, genetic, codominance, Mendel
Some Past Part A, B-1, B-2, C Questions:
January 2013 ~ 7, 8, 12, 13, 15, 19,
August 2012 ~ 4, 6, 7, 8, 23
June 2012 ~ 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15,
Released Regents Tests:
http://www.nysedregents.org/livingenvironment/
High School of Language and Innovation 2013
CURRICULUM TOOL: HEREDITY
1. An organism that reproduces asexually will have
offspring that have
(1) the same genetic information as both of its
parents
(2) different genetic information from either of
its parents
(3) the same genes as its parent
(4) different genes from its parent
3. Two methods of reproduction are represented in the diagram below.
2. The process of inserting this gene into the DNA of a
tomato plant is known as
(1) selective breeding
(2) genetic engineering
(3) cloning
(4) replication
How does the DNA in the offspring produced by these methods compare to the DNA in
the original organism?
(1) The offspring contain half the original number of chromosomes in each method.
(2) The offspring DNA is genetically identical to the original organism in both methods.
(3) The offspring produced by method A contain twice the original number of genes,
while those produced by method B contain half the original number of genes.
(4) The number of DNA bases is less than that of the original organism in method A, but
more than the original organism in method B.
Readings
Prentice Hall Biology
p. 341-365
Holt Living Environment
p. 264-289
Holt Living Environment Spanish
p. 264-289
Miller & Levine Biology
p. 307-343
Websites
http://www.brainpop.com/science/cellularlifeandgenetics/genetics/
http://www.untamedscience.com/biology/genetics
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/heredity-and-genetics
http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072835125/student_view0/animations.html
http://regentsprep.org/regents/biology/units/heredity/index.cfm
THE FOLLOWING IS REQUIRED INDEPENDENT WORK
http://www.brainpop.com/cellularlifeandgenetics/genetics/quiz/ graded quiz
EMAIL TO: christinehunkele@yahoo.com or mcneilnakita@yahoo.com
Holt McDougal Biology
p. 155-177
High School of Language and Innovation 2013
Videos
In-Class Activities
In the womb
Curriculum Tool Guide
In the womb with
multiples
Worksheet station
Activity stations
In the womb with
animals
HIV/AIDS
Discovery Human
Body
Common Core Writing
Prompt
CURRICULUM TOOL: HEREDITY
Curriculum Tool Guide
1. How did Mendel experiment with pea plants?
a. Define "cross" in terms of his experiment.
b. Describe Mendel's experiment (colors of the plants, what he did, what the results were - Mendel's theory)
c. What is the "blending" hypothesis?
2. What is the difference between a trait and a character?
a. Define trait.
b. Define character.
c. Explain "hybrids".
d. Define dominant and recessive.
3. Describe the relationship between heredity and the environment.
a. Define heredity.
b. Define genotype and phenotype
c. How do heredity and the environment differ, and how are they the same?
4. Explain the boxes inside a Punnett square.
a. What is a Punnett square.
b. Define heterozygous and homozygous.
c. What is the probability that a heterozygous cross will produce a homozygous recessive offspring?
5. How can you identify a sex-linked trait?
a. Define sex linked trait.
b. How can you know if a trait is sex-linked?
c. Give an example of a sex-linked trait.
High School of Language and Innovation 2013