Gizmo Inheritance

Last updated 7 months ago

20 Nsɛmmisa

Gizmo Inheritance

Last updated 7 months ago

20 Nsɛmmisa

Vocabulary: acquired trait, asexual reproduction, clone, codominant traits, dominant trait, inherit, offspring, recessive trait, sexual reproduction, trait

(Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)

Features like eye color, skin tone, height, and hair color are called traits. What traits do you think children inherit, or receive, from their parents?

In the Inheritance Gizmo you can create and breed aliens on an imaginary planet. Select Asexual reproduction. During asexual reproduction, a single parent produces offspring (children).

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	Tattoo
Parent
Offspring

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?

Because this offspring inherits its traits from one parent, it is called a clone.

An animated alien-like creature with a single eye and two antennae labeled 'Parent 1' in a yellow background landscape.

Activity A: Inherited traits

Get the Gizmo ready:

Select Sexual reproduction.
Drop all remaining aliens (if any) in the Exit hole.

Image of a nest with a labeled egg in the center.

Question: Are all parental traits inherited by offspring?

Observe: In sexual reproduction, two parents pass traits to the offspring. Create and breed a variety of aliens. Record your observations on a separate sheet of paper.

Form a hypothesis: Which traits do you think are passed down from alien parents to their offspring, and which traits are not? Explain.

Experiment: Set the Food supply to $2$ bushes. Create two identical parents with thick bodies, green skin, curly antennas, and triangle tattoos. Make two offspring and record their traits in the table below.

Investigate further: Create offspring with a few different levels of Food supply. How does food supply affect the body type of offspring?
______________________________________________________________________________

Activity B:
Skin color

Get the Gizmo ready:

Clear all parents and offspring from the Gizmo by dropping them into the Exit hole.
Create a green alien and a pink alien.

Two cartoon snail-like creatures labeled Parent 1 and Parent 2 sitting on a nest.

Question: How is alien skin color inherited?

Predict: What do you think the offspring of a green alien and pink alien will look like?

Experiment: Test your prediction with the Gizmo. What did you find?
When offspring show a mixture of parent traits, the traits are called codominant traits.

Predict: What do you think will happen when you breed two green-and-pink spotted aliens?

Analyze: Look at the results of your experiment.

What kind of skin did most of the offspring have?
Did all of the offspring have green and pink skin?

A cartoon image of two blue alien creatures with single eyes and antennas, labeled as Parent 2, set against a yellow background.

How is alien antenna shape inherited?

Gizmo Inheritance

Gizmo Inheritance

Features like eye color, skin tone, height, and hair color are called traits. What traits do you think children inherit, or receive, from their parents?

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?

Question: Are all parental traits inherited by offspring?

Form a hypothesis: Which traits do you think are passed down from alien parents to their offspring, and which traits are not? Explain.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Investigate further: Create offspring with a few different levels of Food supply. How does food supply affect the body type of offspring?______________________________________________________________________________

Question: How is alien skin color inherited?

Predict: What do you think the offspring of a green alien and pink alien will look like?

Experiment: Test your prediction with the Gizmo. What did you find?When offspring show a mixture of parent traits, the traits are called codominant traits.

Predict: What do you think will happen when you breed two green-and-pink spotted aliens?

Johnny and Isabelle are a young couple expecting their first child. Both have blue eyes, tattoos, and green hair. Which features do you think their child is most likely to have?

Features like eye color, skin tone, height, and hair color are called traits. What traits do you think children inherit, or receive, from their parents?

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?

Question: Are all parental traits inherited by offspring?

Form a hypothesis: Which traits do you think are passed down from alien parents to their offspring, and which traits are not? Explain.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Analyze: Compare the offspring traits to the parent traits.Which traits were passed from parents to offspring? ____________________________Which traits were not passed down? ____________________________________Traits that are not passed down (not inherited) are called acquired traits.

Investigate further: Create offspring with a few different levels of Food supply. How does food supply affect the body type of offspring?______________________________________________________________________________

Question: How is alien skin color inherited?

Predict: What do you think the offspring of a green alien and pink alien will look like?

Experiment: Test your prediction with the Gizmo. What did you find?When offspring show a mixture of parent traits, the traits are called codominant traits.

Predict: What do you think will happen when you breed two green-and-pink spotted aliens?

Think and discuss: For a codominant trait, do the offspring of identical parents always look like the parents? Explain your answer.

Predict: What do you think will happen when you breed an alien with straight antenna to an alien with curly antenna?

Experiment: Test your prediction using the Gizmo. Create at least 5 offspring. What did you notice?

Analyze: Sometimes when two traits are combined, one is a dominant trait and the other is a recessive trait. If both traits are present, only the dominant trait is seen in the offspring. Which trait is dominant, straight antenna or curly?

Which trait is recessive?

Investigate further: Take two of the straight-antenna offspring and breed them together to produce 10 new offspring. Record the antenna type of each offspring. What happened?

Did the recessive trait disappear?

How can a trait skip a generation?

Draw conclusions: For a dominant/recessive trait, do the offspring of identical parents always look like the parents? Explain.

Compare: How do the offspring of two parents that reproduce sexually differ from the offspring of a single parent that reproduces asexually?

Johnny and Isabelle are a young couple expecting their first child. Both have blue eyes, tattoos, and green hair. Which features do you think their child is most likely to have?

Analyze: Compare the offspring traits to the parent traits.Which traits were passed from parents to offspring? ____________________________Which traits were not passed down? ____________________________________Traits that are not passed down (not inherited) are called acquired traits.

Think and discuss: For a codominant trait, do the offspring of identical parents always look like the parents? Explain your answer.

Predict: What do you think will happen when you breed an alien with straight antenna to an alien with curly antenna?

Experiment: Test your prediction using the Gizmo. Create at least 5 offspring. What did you notice?

Analyze: Sometimes when two traits are combined, one is a dominant trait and the other is a recessive trait. If both traits are present, only the dominant trait is seen in the offspring. Which trait is dominant, straight antenna or curly?

Which trait is recessive?

Investigate further: Take two of the straight-antenna offspring and breed them together to produce 10 new offspring. Record the antenna type of each offspring. What happened?

Did the recessive trait disappear?

How can a trait skip a generation?

Draw conclusions: For a dominant/recessive trait, do the offspring of identical parents always look like the parents? Explain.

Compare: How do the offspring of two parents that reproduce sexually differ from the offspring of a single parent that reproduces asexually?

Form a hypothesis: Which traits do you think are passed down from alien parents to their offspring, and which traits are not? Explain.

Investigate further: Create offspring with a few different levels of Food supply. How does food supply affect the body type of offspring?
______________________________________________________________________________

Experiment: Test your prediction with the Gizmo. What did you find?
When offspring show a mixture of parent traits, the traits are called codominant traits.

Form a hypothesis: Which traits do you think are passed down from alien parents to their offspring, and which traits are not? Explain.

Analyze: Compare the offspring traits to the parent traits.
Which traits were passed from parents to offspring?
Which traits were not passed down? ________
Traits that are not passed down (not inherited) are called acquired traits.

Investigate further: Create offspring with a few different levels of Food supply. How does food supply affect the body type of offspring?
______________________________________________________________________________

Experiment: Test your prediction with the Gizmo. What did you find?
When offspring show a mixture of parent traits, the traits are called codominant traits.

Analyze: Compare the offspring traits to the parent traits.
Which traits were passed from parents to offspring?
Which traits were not passed down? ________
Traits that are not passed down (not inherited) are called acquired traits.