Genetics MODSIM Webquest
adapted from explorelearning.com
Name ____________________
www.explorelearning.com
1. In the upper right hand corner, click on ENROLL IN A CLASS HERE
2. Create a NEW username and password
3. Class code ZURR7JUBXY
4. Confirm you are entering the correct Shumate Biology Class
5. Type in your new information, click SUBMIT
You will be working with two gizmos today in class. Make sure you are working on the correct gizmo as
you complete this assignment.
Launch the Mouse Genetics (one trait) Gizmo
Pre-Lab Vocabulary
1. Define phenotype- what the code means
2. Define genotype- the code
3. Allele- any several form of genes
Part A- observing patterns of inheritance
1. On the Gizmo, drag a black mouse over the PARENT ONE label in the purple breeding cage at the
top of the tree diagram. Then, drag a second black mouse over the PARENT TWO label.
a. what color offspring do you PREDICT to result from these parents?
black
yes
yes
b. click BREED. Was your hypothesis correct?
c. click BREED 4 more times to generate additional litters from the same parents. Did
all the offspring have the same fur color?
2. Click CLEAR, draw two white parents to the breeding cage. Click BREED 4 more times and observe
the outcome of the breeding.
a. what color offspring resulted from two white fur parents?
white
3. Click CLEAR. Drag a white mouse and a black mouse into the breeding cage.
a. with a black fur and a white fur parent, what are possible colors for the offspring?
Black because it is pure bread.
b. click BREED. What did the offspring look like? Black
no
c. Click BREED several more times, is there any change in the color of offspring?
d. Draw TWO of the offspring and place them into the HOLDING CAGES in the
bottom of the screen.
Part B- Predicting Genetic Crosses
On the upper right hand side of the screen, place a check next to SHOW GENOTYPE. In this
example, the allele for black fur is F and the allele for white fur is f.
Drag a pure black mouse into Parent ONE and a pure white mouse into Parent TWO.
1. Move the cursor over the black mouse. What is the genotype of a pure black mouse? _FF____
2. Move the cursor over the white mouse. What is the genotype of a pure white mouse?ff____
3. Usually one allele is dominant and the other is recessive. Click BREED. Which color fur appears to
be dominant? EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER.
Black because it is a pure bread mouse and white is not.
4. Explain which color fur appears to be recessive? EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER.
White because if it has babies with a pure bread mouse they will be black
5. Move the cursor over one of the offspring to view its genotype. What is the genotype of an
offspring with a black fur parent and a white fur parent? _Ff____
6. What allele did the mouse inherit from its black fur parent? _Black fur___________
What allele did the mouse inherit from its white fur parent? _none___________
7. What is the phenotype of all the offspring? _black fur_____________
8. True or False. The parents have homozygous alleles. True
9. True or False. Parents with a homozygous dominant trait and a homozygous recessive trait with
produce offspring that are heterozygous. True
10. Clear the breeding cage. Drag the two offspring in the holding cages into the Parent One and
Parent Two cage.
a. move the cursor over the first parent.
What is the mouse’s genotype? ___Ff_______
What is the mouse’s phenotype? ___black fur______
b. move the cursor over the second parent.
What is the mouse’s genotype? _Ff_________
What is the mouse’s phenotype? ____black fur_____
Ff
ff
c. What are the only two possible alleles these parents can pass on to their offspring?
11. To model the possible allele combinations in the offspring, complete the Punnett Square below and
cross the two parents to show all possible genotypes of their offspring:
GenotypesFF
Ff
ff
12. Using the Punnett Square results from above, answer the following:
a. list all the possible genotypes the two parents can produce:
FF Ff ff
b. list all the possible phenotypes the two parents can produce:
black fur and white fur
c. what percentage of the offspring will have black fur?
75%
d. what percentage of the offspring will have white fur?
25%
e. what percentage of the offspring will have a homozygous genotype?
50%
f. what percentage of the offspring will have a heterozygous genotype?
50%
13. Check the SHOW STATISTICS box in the left hand side of the screen. Click BREED and keep
clicking until you have generated 100 offspring.
a. how many offspring had black fur? __75_____
b. how many offspring had white fur? _25
14. Drag a heterozygous black mouse into the HOLDING CAGE. Clear the rest of the breeding cage.
Drag a PURE white mouse into PARENT ONE and drag the heterozygous mouse from the HOLDING
CAGE into PARENT TWO. Create a Punnett Square for your two parents.
Ff
ff
Ff
ff
a. what percentage will have black fur? __50%______
b. what percentage will have white fur? ___50%_____
c. click BREED until you have reached 100 offspring. How close were your results to the
predicted percentages? (**hint to find percentage: [number / total] x 100**)
really close
d. Explain why increasing the sample size will get you results closer to the predicted percentages?
Because of the more it breeds the more mice come.
Conclusion
Scroll down pass the gizmo and answer the 5 question. Record your answers below:
1. __ff__
2. Both heterozygous __
3. All offspring will be white____ 4._Ff ff____
5.3 black 2 white_____
Launch the Inheritance Gizmo
Part One-Asexual Reproduction (click on ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION at the top of the screen)
1. Create an alien by click on CREATE ALIEN. You may choose any characteristics you want. Please fill
in the information you selected into the chart below, in the PARENT row.
Alien
Body Type
Skin Color
Antenna Shape
Tattoo
Parent
medium
green
straight
mom
Offspring
medium
green
straight
none
2. Drag the parent over to the PARENT ONE space and press REPRODUCE. Fill in the OFFSPRING
traits in the table above. What similarities in traits OR differences in traits are there between
parent and offspring?
**because the offspring inherits its traits from only ONE parent in asexual reproduction, it is called
a CLONE.**
Part Two- Sexual Reproduction (click on SEXUAL REPRODUCTION at the top of the screen)
1. In sexual reproduction, two parents will pass on their traits to their offspring. Offspring will
inherit traits as a blend from the mother and father. With some knowledge of genetics, one can
predict what the offspring will look like. Create the following parents and fill in the table for the
offspring’s phenotypes. Make sure once you create the parent to drag them over, once you have both
parents dragged over click REPRODUCE. Once you have recorded traits, make sure to exit both
parents before moving on to the next cross.
Cross One:
Alien
Parent 1
Body Type
Medium
Skin Color
Green
Antenna Shape
Straight
Tattoo
None
Parent 2
Thick
blue
curly
triangle
Offspring
medium
blue
spots
spots
Cross Two:
Alien
Parent 1
Body Type
Thin
Skin Color
Blue
Antenna Shape
Straight
Tattoo
MOM
Parent 2
Medium
Pink
Straight
Stripes
Offspring
medium
pink
straight
spots
Cross Three
Alien
Parent 1
Body Type
Thick
Skin Color
Green
Antenna Shape
Curly
Tattoo
none
Parent 2
Thick
Green
Curly
Stripes
Offspring
medium
green
curly
none
2. Looking at the above table, what traits do you think are passed down from alien parents to their
offspring AND which trait is NOT passes down to offspring?
Antenna
3. Traits that are inherited are traits passed down from one generation to the next. Traits that are
acquired are traits that are NOT passed down.
a. list 2 examples from the above chart that are inherited traits:
antenna skin color
b. list 1 example from the above chart that is an acquired trait:
tattoo body size
4. Suppose a human child had a mother with dyed-pink hair and a father who was missing a finger (lost
in an accident). Using your knowledge of inherited vs. acquired traits, explain in your own words why or
why not the child would inherit dyed-pink hair and missing finger from the child’s parents?
Because the mom chose to dye her hair and the dad wasn’t born without the finger it happened in an
accident.
5. Create offspring with a few different levels of FOOD SUPPLY (at the center bottom of gizmo).
How does food supply affect the body type of the offspring?
On how it looks.
Part Three- Co-dominant Traits
1. Create a green alien parent with a pink alien parent. What type of skin does the offspring alien
have?
green
**When offspring show a mixture of parent traits, the traits are called co-dominant**
2. What do you think will happen when you breed two green and pink spotted aliens?
They will have green spots
3. Follow the steps below and complete the chart.
a. create a green parent (with any other traits you decide) and drag them to Parent 1
b. create a pink parent (with any other traits you decide) and drag them to Parent 2
c. click REPRODUCE. Drag the offspring to the space below the NEST
d. click REPRODUCE again and drag the offspring to the space below the NEST
e. Drag the Green Parent and the Pink Parent to the Exit Hole
f. Drag one of the green and pink spotted offspring to Parent 1 and the other to
Parent 2
g. Click REPRODUCE and record what skin type the offspring has. Once you have
recorded the offspring color drag it to the Exit Hole. Click the REPRODUCE button
again and record the skin color. Do this same procedure for 10 times and keep a tally of
each skin color noted.
Skin Color
Number of Offspring
Green
lll
Green and Pink
lllll
Pink
ll
4. Looking at your results, what kind of skin type did most of the offspring have?
Green and pinl
5. For a co-dominant trait, do the offspring of identical of the same parents always look like their
parents? EXPLAIN
No because they were all different colors
Part 4: Dominant versus Recessive Traits
1. Test what happens when you cross an alien with straight antenna with an alien with a curly antenna.
Create at least 5 offspring and explain what you notice about the offspring’s’ antenna shape.
They will have straight antennas
2. Sometimes when two traits are combined, one is a dominant trait and the other is a recessive trait.
If both traits are present, one the dominant trait is seen in the offspring.
Which trait is dominant, straight antenna or curly?____straight____________________
Which trait is recessive, straight antenna or curly? ______curly_________________
3. Using the same parents, save 2 of the offspring that have straight antenna and place them below
the nest. Exit the parents and now reproduce the 2 offspring with straight antenna you saved.
Reproduce them 10 times and record their information below:
Antenna Type
Number of Offspring
Straight
10
Curly
0
4. Using the information you collected in the table above, answer the following:
a. which trait showed up the most?
straight
b. which trait showed up the least?
curly
c. which trait is the dominant trait?
straight
d. which trait is the recessive trait?
curly
e. both parents started with straight traits, explain in your own words how two
straight antenna parents can give rise to a curly antenna offspring.
Because they could be heterozygous.
5. Cystic Fibrosis is a deadly disease of the lungs and digestive system. It is a recessive trait. How
can two healthy parents have a child with cystic fibrosis?
Because they can be heterozygous
Vocabulary- using what you have learned define the following vocabulary words:
1. Define trait- a gene that is passed down from a parent or ancestor
2. Dominant trait- a trait that has complete power and always shows up
3. Recessive trait- some that doesn’t show up as much or doesn’t have as much command
4. Asexual reproduction- when you don’t need someone to reproduce with
5. Sexual reproduction- when you need someone to reproduce with
6. co-dominant- something that has second power to something.
7. clone- an exact replica of an asexual animal
Conclusion
Scroll down pass the gizmo and answer the 5 question. Record your answers below:
1. __c__
2. __a__
3. __c__
4.___c__
5.___a__