How Traits Are Controlled

LESSON Name Date
Outline
How Traits Are Controlled

Use your textbook to help you fill in the blanks.
What is heredity?
1. The passing of an inherited trait, such as dimples,
from parents to their offspring is known as heredity .
2. An acquired trait comes from experience or
from the environment .
What did Mendel do?
3. Gregor Mendel is considered by many to be the founder
of genetics .
4. Mendel experimented with pea plants to

study how traits were passed from parents to offspring.
5. Purebred organisms always produce offspring

with the same traits.
6. Hybrid organisms may not always look the same,
because each parent has provided a
different form of a trait .
7. When the hybrid pea plants produced more tall plants

than short plants, Mendel decided that tall was the
© Macmillan/McGraw-Hill
dominant trait for height.
8. Mendel called the short form of the trait the recessive trait ,
which may be hidden for a generation.
54 Chapter 3 • Genetics
Reading and Writing
Use with Lesson 1
Name Date LESSON
Outline
Why is Mendel’s work important?
9. What Mendel called a factor is today called a(n)

gene , which is a part of a(n)
chromosome that contains many factors.
10. Punnett squares can be used to determine the

probability , or likelihood, that an offspring
will inherit a particular trait in a genetic cross.
11. In a genetic cross, there are two
genes, one from each parent, and four

different ways in which the genes can combine.
What is selective breeding?
12. Drought resistance in plants and strength in animals are
examples of desirable traits.
13. In selective breeding, people choose organisms with
desirable traits and mate them to
produce offspring with the same traits.
Critical Thinking
14. Would selective breeding work for an acquired trait?

Why or why not?
No; acquired traits are not inherited from parents, so they cannot be
controlled in the same way that inherited traits can, and they come
instead from experience and the environment.
Chapter 3 • Genetics
Reading and Writing
Use with Lesson 1
55
LESSON Name Date
Vocabulary

Fill in the blanks.
acquired trait genetics inherited trait
dominant trait heredity recessive trait
gene hybrids
1. The study of heredity is called genetics .
2. Organisms that have inherited two different forms of the
same trait, one from each parent, are called hybrids .
3. The form of a trait that can be hidden is called a(n)

recessive trait .
4. A characteristic that is passed from parent to offspring
is a(n) inherited trait .
5. A trait that is influenced by experience or the
environment is called a(n) acquired trait .
6. A portion of a chromosome that controls a particular
inherited trait is called a(n) gene .
7. The passing of inherited traits from parents to offspring

is called heredity .
8. When one form of a trait masks the other form of the
trait, the trait that appears is called the dominant trait .
56 Chapter 3 • Genetics
Reading and Writing
Use with Lesson 1
Name Date LESSON
Cloze Activity

Fill in the blanks.
desirable genes pea plants selective

breeding
dominant inherited Punnett
factors Mendel recessive
Genetics is the study of the traits parents pass on to
their offspring. Some traits are dominant, and others are

recessive . Recessive traits will appear only in
the absence of dominant genes.
Gregor Mendel experimented with

pea plants to understand heredity. He learned
that in reproduction each parent gives a set of factors
to its offspring. Today, these factors are called genes .
Genes control which inherited traits are passed
from parents to their offspring. Punnett squares
are used to predict the outcome of a genetic cross.

Some traits, such as strength, height, or resistance to
weather extremes, are considered desirable
traits. These traits can be produced intentionally in offspring
through a process called selective breeding . This is how
many breeds of animals get their distinctive features.
Chapter 3 • Genetics
Reading and Writing
Use with Lesson 1
57

How Traits Are Controlled - Workbook Corrected Pages

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

How Traits Are Controlled - Workbook Corrected Pages

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

LESSON Name Date

1. The passing of an inherited trait, such as dimples,

from parents to their offspring is known as heredity .

2. An acquired trait comes from experience or

from the environment .

What did Mendel do?

3. Gregor Mendel is considered by many to be the founder

4. Mendel experimented with pea plants to

5. Purebred organisms always produce offspring

6. Hybrid organisms may not always look the same,

because each parent has provided a

different form of a trait .

7. When the hybrid pea plants produced more tall plants

dominant trait for height.

Why is Mendel’s work important?

9. What Mendel called a factor is today called a(n)

10. Punnett squares can be used to determine the

11. In a genetic cross, there are two

genes, one from each parent, and four

What is selective breeding?

12. Drought resistance in plants and strength in animals are

examples of desirable traits.

13. In selective breeding, people choose organisms with

desirable traits and mate them to

produce offspring with the same traits.

14. Would selective breeding work for an acquired trait?

How Traits Are Controlled

acquired trait genetics inherited trait

dominant trait heredity recessive trait

1. The study of heredity is called genetics .

2. Organisms that have inherited two different forms of the

same trait, one from each parent, are called hybrids .

3. The form of a trait that can be hidden is called a(n)

4. A characteristic that is passed from parent to offspring

is a(n) inherited trait .

5. A trait that is influenced by experience or the

environment is called a(n) acquired trait .

6. A portion of a chromosome that controls a particular

inherited trait is called a(n) gene .

7. The passing of inherited traits from parents to offspring

8. When one form of a trait masks the other form of the

trait, the trait that appears is called the dominant trait .

How Traits Are Controlled

desirable genes pea plants selective

factors Mendel recessive

Genetics is the study of the traits parents pass on to

their offspring. Some traits are dominant, and others are

the absence of dominant genes.

Gregor Mendel experimented with

that in reproduction each parent gives a set of factors

to its offspring. Today, these factors are called genes .

Genes control which inherited traits are passed

from parents to their offspring. Punnett squares

are used to predict the outcome of a genetic cross.

Some traits, such as strength, height, or resistance to

weather extremes, are considered desirable

traits. These traits can be produced intentionally in offspring

through a process called selective breeding . This is how

many breeds of animals get their distinctive features.

You might also like