California Content Standards in this Unit: Genetics: This 4 week unit will focus on two main concepts: living things inherit traits in patterns, and patterns of heredity can be predicted. There will be a variety of hands-on activities covering genes and alleles, Punnett squares, human genetic traits, and probability.2. A typical cell of any organism contains genetic instructions that specify its traits. Those traits may be modified by environmental influences. As a basis for understanding this concept: a. Students know the differences between the life cycles and reproduction methods of sexual and asexual organisms. b. Students know sexual reproduction produces offspring that inherit half their genes from each parent. c. Students know an inherited trait can be determined by one or more genes. d. Students know plant and animal cells contain many thousands of different genes and typically have two copies of every gene. The two copies (or alleles) of the gene may or may not be identical, and one may be dominant in determining the phenotype while the other is recessive. e. Students know DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the genetic material of living organisms and is located in the chromosomes of each cell. Genes and Alleles: Click here to open a YouTube video on "How to Make a Punnett Square." Click here to practice punnett square problems Coin Toss and Dice Throw Examples: ![]() (available after we complete the Genetic Traits Survey) |
Unit 5
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