Pedigree Charts Worksheet
Name: ___________________________
Background Information
Pedigree charts are very important to many different fields of science. One reason they
are important is because they help scientist understand the genetic patterns of diseases.
It is important to be able to interpret pedigree charts in order to learn the pattern of a
disease or condition. Specifically, using a pedigree chart, you can tell if a disease is
autosomal, sex-linked, dominant, or recessive.
First you need to become comfortable in making a pedigree chart. Complete the
following examples. You may refer to your notes if necessary.
1. How can you tell if a couple is married on a pedigree? Write a one sentence
description and draw an example.
2. How can you tell if the couple had children? Write a one sentence description
and draw an example.
3. Draw a pedigree that represents the following:
Mary is married to Greg and has 2 sons (Scott and Tyler) and 1 daughter (Karen).
Label the pedigree with the names of the people.
4. Draw a pedigree that represents the following:
Mary is married to Greg and has 2 sons (Scott and Tyler) and 1 daughter (Karen).
Scott married April and had a son, Sutton, and a daughter, Kendall. Karen
married Harry and had two sons, Eliq and Tariq. Label the pedigree with the
names of the people.
5. Draw a pedigree that represents Julie married to Jeff, with one daughter,
Josephine. Josephine married to Joseph and had Jason and Joe. Joe married Julia
and had Shannon, and sons Alex and Mark. Mark married Alison and had a son,
Ray, and a daughter, Scarlet. Label the pedigree with the names of the people.
6. Is the following autosomal or sex-linked? Explain how you know.
7. Is the following autosomal or sex-linked? Is it dominant or recessive? Explain
how you know.
8. Draw a pedigree that represents the following:
Chad and Veronica got married and had Brittany, Kristen, and Harry. It was
discovered that Harry had Disease A. Brittany married Larry and had Stephan and
Stephanie. Stephan also had Disease A. Larry’s brother Barry also had Disease A,
but neither of their parents had Disease A. Include all people in the pedigree and
label with their names.
9. Lisa and Ashton got married and had three girls, Carrie, Mary, and Terry. It was
discovered that Lisa had Disease B. Terry married Perry and they had two boys,
Pike and Tike. It was discovered that Terry and Pike had Disease B also. Include
all people in the pedigree and label with their names.
10. Debbie married David and had three children, Darren, Dawn, and Derek. David,
Darren, and Derek discovered that they have Disease D. Derek married Didi and
had two girls, Denise and Destiny. Denise also has Disease D and she married
Dirk. They had a girl and a boy, Dee and Deven. Dee has Disease D. Draw the
pedigree, include all individuals, and label with their names.