For absent students – you will need to print your final file, or bring it on
a USB drive for grading or you can send it as an attachment to my
email:
Katherine_ewalt@colonialhts.net
Inheritance Gizmo
Select Asexual reproduction. During asexual reproduction, a single parent produces offspring.
(children). Because this offspring inherits its traits from one parent, it is called a clone.
1. Click Create alien and create your own alien. Describe its traits in the
Parent row of the table:
Alien
Body type
Skin Color
Antenna shape
Choose 1Tattoo
Parent
Offspring
2. Drag the parent over to the Parent 1 space and press Reproduce. Fill in the Offspring traits on
the table above. What traits appear to be inherited from the parent?
_________________________________________________________________________
Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity A:
 Select Sexual reproduction.
 Drop all remaining aliens (if any) in the Exit hole.
Inherited traits
1. Observe: In sexual reproduction, two parents pass traits to the offspring. Create and breed a
variety of 3 pairs of aliens. Save your offspring below the nest. Take a “snapshot” and paste it into
this document on page 3, after you have bred your three pairs.
2. Experiment: Vary the Food supply to 2 bushes. Create two identical parents with thick bodies,
green skin, curly antennas, and tattoos. Make two offspring and record their traits.
Alien
Body type
Skin Color
Antenna shape
Parents
Thick
Green
Curly
Tattoo
Offspring
Offspring
3. Analyze: Which traits were not passed down? ______________________________________
Traits that are not passed down (not inherited) are called acquired traits.
When offspring show a mixture of parent traits, the traits are called codominant.
4. Experiment: Follow the steps below. (Make sure all other traits are the same)




Place a green alien and a pink alien in the locations for Parent 1 and Parent 2.
Breed these parents twice. Drag both offspring to the spaces below the Nest.
Drag the two green-and-pink offspring up to become the new Parent 1 and Parent 2.
Breed these aliens 10 times. Tally how many times each skin color occurred in offspring.
Skin color
Green
Green and pink
Pink
Number of offspring
Take a Screen Shot of your Ten Offspring and Paste it into this document on page 3
Paste SCREEN SHOTS here by hitting “Ctrl V”
Mouse Genetics (One Trait) Gizmo
Activity B:
Genetics basics
Get the Gizmo ready:
 Click Clear.
 Drag a black mouse and a white mouse into the
parent boxes.
Introduction: The rules of inheritance were discovered in the 19th century by Gregor Mendel. Inherited
traits are encoded on a molecule called DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Genes are segments of DNA that
control a particular trait. Most genes have several different versions, or alleles. The genotype is the
allele combination an organism has.
1. Observe: Turn on Show genotype. Move your cursor over a mouse to see its genotype.
A. What is the genotype of the black parent? _______
White parent? _______
These mice are homozygous for fur color, meaning both alleles are the same.
B. Click Breed. What is the genotype of the offspring mice? _______
These mice are heterozygous for fur color, meaning the alleles are different.
These mice are also called hybrids
2. Analyze: Sometimes when two traits are combined, one is a dominant and the other is a
recessive. Dominant alleles are always expressed when present. Recessive alleles are not
expressed when the dominant allele is also present. Look at the two alleles for fur color.
A. Which allele is dominant, and which fur color does it produce? _________________
B. Which allele is recessive, and which fur color does it produce? _________________
3. Place two of the Ff offspring into the Holding Cages. Click Clear, and then place them into the
parent boxes.
A. Which allele(s) did the offspring inherit from parent 1? ______________________
B. Which allele(s) did the offspring inherit from parent 2? ______________________
C. What are the possible genotypes (letters) of the offspring? ______________________
4. Experiment: Turn on Show statistics. Drag two offspring from the Holding Cages. Click Clear, and
then breed two hybrids. Click Breed until there are 100 offspring. Copy screen (by holding shift and
“prt scr” button) and paste on document on page 5.
How many offspring were black? ________
How many were white? ________
5. Model: Use the Punnett square below to model one mouse parent combination, of your choosing.
Paste SCREEN SHOT here by hitting “Ctrl V”
WHEN DONE – SAVE and close and return to the assignments page for more practice.