Create-A-Kid
Name: ___________________________
Period: _____
Today, you will be using your knowledge of genetics to create a “Kid”. Your Kid will
be the offspring of an imaginary Mom and Dad. To begin, Mom and Dad will each
start with their own set of chromosomes. Mom’s are pink; Dad’s are blue. If you
remember, during the process of cell division for reproduction (meiosis), the
offspring will receive only half of Mom’s chromosomes, and only half of Dad’s
chromosomes.
Mom’s
Chromosomes
Dad’s
Chromosomes
Egg
(1/2)
1/2 of Mom’s
Chromosomes
Sperm
(1/2)
Kid
1/2 of Dad’s
Chromosomes
You will also need to remember some terms that will be needed in completing this
assignment. Write a brief definition and example for each of the following.
Allele: ___________________________________________________
Example: ______
Genotype: _________________________________________________
Example: ______
Phenotype: ________________________________________________
Example: ________________________
E. Gratkins, Smith JH
Page 1 of 6, rev. 2/12/16
Procedure: Check off each step as you read and complete it.
____1. Empty the contents of the envelope on to the table and sort the paper
chromosomes by color.
____2. Place the pink chromosomes on Mom’s space; blue go on Dad’s space.
____3. Arrange the chromosomes in order from 1-9 with the number side facing
up. There should be two of each number, making a total of 18 blue and 18
pink chromosomes.
____4. Randomly select one of each number from Mom’s pile; and move them into
the Egg space. These are the chromosomes inherited from Mom. Put the
unused pink chromosomes back in the envelope.
____5. Repeat step 4 with the blue chromosomes, moving those selected into the
Sperm space. These are the chromosomes inherited from Dad. Put the
unused blue chromosomes back in the envelope.
____6. In cell division for reproduction, the chromosomes from the sperm and egg
come together to create an offspring. To do this, combine the pink and
blue chromosomes from the Egg and Sperm spaces in the Kid space.
Arrange the chromosomes in order from 1-9 with the number side facing
up. You should have a pink and a blue of each number.
Your Kid should now have a pair of chromosomes (one blue and one pink) for each of
the numbers 1-9.
In the next part, you will “decode” the chromosomes to find out what your Kid’s
traits will be. Mom’s allele will be the letter on the back of the pink chromosomes,
and Dad’s allele will be the letter on the back of the blue chromosomes. The two
letters, together, make up the Kid’s genotype.
E. Gratkins, Smith JH
Page 2 of 6, rev. 2/12/16
Chromosome #
C1. Gender: Gender of a child is determined by a special set of
chromosomes called the sex chromosomes. Mom has two X chromosomes (XX).
Dad has one X and one Y chromosome (XY). Your Kid will get an X chromosome
from Mom (it’s the only kind she has), but may get an X or a Y from Dad. If the
Kid gets a Y from Dad, then it will be a baby boy; an X from Dad means a baby
girl. To determine the gender of your Kid, turn over both #1 chromosomes.
XX = girl -- XY = boy
Chromosomes: __________ Gender: __________
Complete Dominance: For complete dominance, the presence of a dominant allele
will mask, or cover up, a recessive allele in a gene pair. If even one dominant allele
is present in the genotype, the dominant trait will show. The only way the
recessive trait will show is if there are two recessive alleles in the genotype. For
your Kid, the following traits show complete dominance.
C2. Face Shape: Dominant (F) = oval shape
Recessive (f) = round shape
Mom’s allele = ______; Dad’s allele = ______
Kid’s genotype = ________ Kid’s phenotype = _____________________
C3. Nose Shape: Dominant (N) = triangle shape
Recessive (n) = round shape
Mom’s allele = ______; Dad’s allele = ______
Kid’s genotype = ________ Kid’s phenotype = _____________________
C4. Widow’s Peak: Dominant (W) = present
Recessive (w) = not present
Mom’s allele = ______; Dad’s allele = ______
Kid’s genotype = ________ Kid’s phenotype = _____________________
E. Gratkins, Smith JH
Page 3 of 6, rev. 2/12/16
C5. Ear Lobes: Dominant (L) = free ear lobes
Recessive (l) = attached ear lobes
Mom’s allele = ______; Dad’s allele = ______
Kid’s genotype = ________ Kid’s phenotype = _____________________
C6. Eye Color: Dominant (E) = dark colored eyes
Recessive (e) = light colored eyes
Mom’s allele = ______; Dad’s allele = ______
Kid’s genotype = ________ Kid’s phenotype = _____________________
C7. Hair Color: Dominant (C) = dark colored hair
Recessive (c) = light colored hair
Mom’s allele = ______; Dad’s allele = ______
Kid’s genotype = ________ Kid’s phenotype = _____________________
Incomplete Dominance: For incomplete dominance, the presence of a dominant
allele does not completely mask a recessive allele in a gene pair. If the Kid has one
dominant and one recessive allele, a blending of the dominant and recessive trait
will happen. This makes a third phenotype possible.
C8. Mouth Shape: Dominant (MM) = smile
Incomplete dominance (Mm) = straight line
Recessive (mm) = “O” shape
Mom’s allele = ______; Dad’s allele = ______
Kid’s genotype = ________ Kid’s phenotype = _____________________
C9. Hair Type: Dominant (HH) = curly
Incomplete dominance (Hh) = wavy
Recessive (hh) = straight
Mom’s allele = ______; Dad’s allele = ______
Kid’s genotype = ________ Kid’s phenotype = _____________________
E. Gratkins, Smith JH
Page 4 of 6, rev. 2/12/16
Complete the genotype and phenotype information in this table.
Trait
#
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Trait
Gender
Face Shape
Nose Shape
Widow’s Peak
Ear Lobes
Eye Color
Hair Color
Mouth Shape
Hair Type
Create-A-Kid Data
Parent’s
Parent’s
Genotype
Phenotype
XX and XY
Female & Male
Ff
Oval
Nn
Triangle
Ww
Present
Ll
Free
Dark
Ee
Cc
Dark
Mm
Straight
Hh
Wavy
Kid’s
Genotype
Kid’s
Phenotype
STOP and get your teacher’s signature at this time.
T.S. ______
Directions: Draw a large color portrait of your Kid’s face, based on the Kid’s
phenotypes listed in the last column of the above data table. Create a quality
drawing, making sure each trait is clearly visible, using colored pencils as needed.
In addition, give your Kid a name so that we can know whether it is a boy or girl.
My Kid’s Name: __________________________
E. Gratkins, Smith JH
Page 5 of 6, rev. 2/12/16
Questions: Write in complete sentences, of course!
1. Explain what each of these terms means. You can explain by using an example if
you want to.
a. complete dominance __________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
b. incomplete dominance ________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
2. How many phenotypes are possible for each of these?
a. complete dominance? _______
b. incomplete dominance? _______
3. Did your child receive any recessive traits? _____ If so, what are they?
(hint: look for the genotypes that have two recessive alleles)
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
4. Did your child receive any dominant traits? _____ If so, what are they? (hint:
look for the genotypes that have at least one dominant allele)
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
5. Explain how a trait can appear in your Kid that doesn’t appear in either parent.
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
E. Gratkins, Smith JH
Page 6 of 6, rev. 2/12/16