7 Genes and inheritance

Check your progress

7.1 Copy and complete the sentences. Choose from the list.
You can use each word once, more than once or not at all.
chromosomes DNA four genes two
chromosomes .
The nucleus of every cell contains several long threads, called ...............................
2
In most cells, there are .................. copies of each thread.
Each thread contains many .................................
genes .
DNA .
The threads are made of a chemical called ............................ [4]
7.2 Copy and complete the table. Put a tick in a space if you think the description is
correct. Leave the space empty if you think the description is not correct. [5]

Description Egg cells Sperm cells

contain a nucleus
v
are gametes ~
w
can swim
V
in humans, contain 23 chromosomes
r W
contain either an X chromosome or a
Y chromosome
~
7.3 Arun investigated variation in bean pods. (You can see a picture of a pod on
the previous page.)
He picked 20 bean pods, all from the same species of bean plant. He counted
the number of beans in each pod. These are the results that he wrote down.
7, 3, 8, 6, 3, 4, 7, 5, 5, 8, 6, 4, 6, 7, 5, 5, 6, 5, 4, 8
a Calculate the mean number of beans in a pod.
Show how you worked out your answer. [2]
b Copy this results table. Use Arun’s results to complete it. [2]

Number of beans in a pod

Tally
Number of pods

269