4: Genetics
- Page ID
- 25092
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This activity helps students to understand basic principles of genetics, including how genotype influences phenotype via the effects of DNA on the synthesis of proteins and how genes are transmitted from parents to offspring through the processes of meiosis and fertilization. This page includes activity, teacher handout, and supplement. Alternatively, students can catalog single gene inheritance for themselves:
- 4.1: Genetics Protocol
- We all know that children tend to resemble their parents. Parents and their children tend to have similar appearance because children inherit genes from their parents and these genes influence characteristics such as skin and hair color. Each cell in your body has two copies of each gene (from your parents). If both copies of a gene have the same allele, the person is homozygous for that gene. If the two copies of a gene have different alleles, the person is heterozygous for that gene.
- 4.2: Genetics Teacher Preparation Notes
- This activity helps students to understand the basic principles of genetics, including how genotype influences phenotype via the effects of DNA on the synthesis of proteins and how genes are transmitted from parents to offspring through the processes of meiosis and fertilization. We recommend that you start with either version of the introductory module. After that, the other modules can be used in whatever combination and sequence best meets your learning goals for your students.
- 4.3: Genetics Supplementary Document
- We all know that children tend to resemble their parents. Parents and their children tend to have similar appearance because children inherit genes from their parents and these genes influence characteristics such as skin and hair color. The two alleles determine which version(s) of the protein is made by your body's cells, and the different versions of the protein can result in different characteristics.
- 4. Inheritance Patterns
- The chromosomal theory of inheritance outlines how the movement and thereby transmission of chromosomes from parent to child, results in the patterns of inheritance described by Gregor Mendel. While the law of segregation stipulates the diploid set of each parent genome will separate into the haploid gametes, segregation does not ensure the chromosome will be identically inherited.
Contributors and Attributions
- By Drs. Scott Poethig, Ingrid Waldron, and Jennifer Doherty, Dept. Biology, Univ. Pennsylvania, CC-BY-NC 4.0.
- By Dr. Sascha McKeon, Science Department, Blue Mountain Community College, CC-BY-NC 4.0.