Activity 1: How Mendel’s Pea Plants Helped Us With Genetics
You can use the video we watched in class to answer these questions. If you need to watch the video
again, visit this website: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-mendel-s-pea-plants-helped-us-understandgenetics-hortensia-jimenez-diaz#watch
1. What did Gregor Mendel use to discover the principles that rule heredity?
A
B
C
D
Pea plants
Pigeons
Pear trees
Photosynthesis
2. What happened to the green trait in Mendel's pea plants?
A
B
C
D
It disappeared, further proving Darwin's theory of evolution
The pea plants produced 50% less green seeds
It was hidden by the dominant yellow gene
Nothing happened to the green gene
3. What did Mendel call the two kinds of traits exhibited by the pea plants (one coming from the father,
one from the mother)?
A
B
C
D
Genesis
Elective traits
Alleles
Quadrants
4. What do we call the result of the genotype (for example, the color of the peas)?
A
B
C
D
Visible traits
Physiotrait
Genotype 2
Phenotype
5. What do we call the table used to calculate the probability of an offspring's genotype?
A
B
C
D
Punnett square
Venn diagram
Golden ratio
Fibonacci sequence
Activity 2: What is DNA?
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/basics/ Click on the “What is DNA?” link.
1) Why is DNA important?
2) What does DNA stand for?
3) Why is DNA called a blueprint?
4) The "twisted ladder" shape of the DNA molecule is called a ______________.
5) Name the four bases found in a DNA molecule.
6) A DNA strand is made of _________ which make up __________ which make up sentences.
7) These "sentences" are called ________________.
Activity 3: What is a chromosome?
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/basics/ Click on “What is a chromosome?”
1) If you stretched the DNA from a cell out, how long would it be?
2) How many chromosomes are in a human cell? In a mosquito? In a carp?
Activity 4: What is a gene?
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/basics/ Click on “What is a gene?”
1) What is a gene?
2) What are genes made out of?
3) Blood cells use a protein called ________________ to capture and carry oxygen.
4) When a gene is changed, it is said to be __________________________.
5) A mutation in the gene for hemoglobin causes what disorder?
Activity 5: Explain the relationship between traits and heredity. Genetics is the science of genes and heredity. Inside the nucleus of all your body cells are 23 pairs of
chromosomes. Each chromosome carries hundreds to thousands of genes on it. Each gene describes
some of your traits. Traits include characteristics like your hair color, eye color, allergies, body shape,
health, tastes, etc. These are all traits described by your genes. The genes describe these traits with a
kind of code - a genetic code. This genetic code is written on your DNA which is located inside the
nucleus of your cells. Heredity is how we pass these coded traits on to our children.
1) Define heredity in your own words.
2) Can a person change the traits that were passed on to them by their parents? If so, what can they
do? If not, why not?
3) Humans have two complete sets of chromosomes. How many chromosomes are found on each
set? ________
How many total chromosomes do you have? ___________
4) How many sets of chromosomes does each parent contribute to their child? __________
Activity 6: Gregor Mendel & Scientific Method
Gregor Mendel was an Austrian monk. He experimented with pea plants in the mid-1800's. He kept
track of a number of traits over several generations, including: color of the seeds, plant height, whether
the pod was smooth or wrinkled, and the shape of seeds. Over time, he noticed that certain plants
produced new plants that were similar to the parents. For example, short "parent" plants produced
more short plants, and tall "parent" plants have tall offspring. When he bred plants with different traits,
he found patterns in the appearance of the new plants. He concluded that some genes are dominant and
other ones are recessive. Dominant genes hide other genes that are present, and the trait
corresponding to that gene will appear. Traits represented by recessive genes will only appear when the
dominant gene is not present.
Use these websites to learn more about Gregor Mendel and his pea plants. Gregor Mendel’s Genetics Discoveries with Peas
http://www.exploringnature.org/db/detail.php?dbID=22&detID=54
Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) http://www.accessexcellence.org/RC/AB/BC/Gregor_Mendel.php
Directions: Identify the use of the scientific method in Mendel’s work.
1. Ask a question: What question was Mendel trying to answer with his experiments?
2. Form a hypothesis: Write a statement that answers the question you created above. Remember
you are writing this from Gregor Mendel’s perspective.
3. Test the hypothesis: What method did Gregor Mendel use to test his hypothesis?
4. Analyze the results: What information did Gregor Mendel gather from his experiments?
5. Draw Conclusion: What theory did Gregor Mendel come up with to explain his results?