Heredity

                                                  
Heredity is the passing of traits
from parents to their children.

What are some traits that this

dog passed on to her puppies?
 Parents pass on their traits because
they pass on their chromosomes to
their children. If you get two X
chromosomes, you are a girl. If you get
one X and one Y, you are a boy.
 What are Chromosomes?
• Chromosomes are packages that contain
coiled up protein called DNA.
• You get 23 Chromosomes from Mom, 23
from Dad, for a total of 46.
 What is DNA?
• DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleic Acid.
• DNA is found inside every cell.
• On the DNA, there are instructions called
Genes that tell the cell what to do.
• There are usually different forms of each
gene, called Alleles. Ex: The gene for eye
color could have a blue and brown allele.
 Dominant vs. Recessive Traits
• Some alleles are dominant, some are
recessive. You will get one allele from
each parent. If you get a blue eye allele
from mom and a brown eye allele from
Dad, then your eyes will appear brown
because brown is Dominant. It covers up
the recessive trait. Dominant traits cover up
recessive traits.
 How can a recessive trait show up?
• We pick a letter to represent a trait. For example,
pick B to represent eye color. Capital B would
represent Dominant Brown Eye allele. Lowercase
b would represent recessive blue eye allele.
• The only way blue can “show up” and make your
eyes look blue is if you are given the recessive
allele by BOTH parents!
 Let’s take a look at some
common dominant and
recessive traits. Look at the
chart and see what traits you
have. Compare these to the
class. Do dominant or recessive
traits appear more often?
 Punnett Square
• A Punnett Square is a chart used to
predict the outcomes of a genetic cross.
In the example below, there is a 100 %
chance that the baby birds will be red.
 Gregor Mendel
Mendel is known as the father of
Genetics. He crosses pea plants and first
realized that traits are passed fro parents
to offspring.
DNA Structure
*DNA is composed of units called
nucleotides.

*Each DNA nucleotide is made of

a sugar, a phosphate, and a base.
*The four nitrogen bases are
Adenine, Thymine, Guanine, and
Cytosine.
*A always bonds with T and C
always bonds with G in a DNA
molecule. (Hydrogen Bonds)