Inheritance Vocabulary

A trait is a feature of a living thing. Fur pattern is a trait of an animal. Leaf shape is a trait of a plant. Naming a trait tells us which feature we are describing.

Offspring are the young produced by parents. Kittens are offspring of cats. Seedlings are offspring of parent plants.

Species and breed describe different groups. Dogs belong to one species, while cats belong to another. Labradors and Poodles are breeds within the dog species. A breed has shared inherited traits, but its members need not look identical.

For many animals, members of one species can have young together that can grow up and have young too. Scientists also use other evidence to decide which species living things belong to.

Young animals often share features with their parents. Information passed through genes helps explain these similarities. Genes affect plant traits too, such as leaf shape.

Animals with two parents receive genetic information from both. Two young animals with the same parents can receive different mixes of genes. Their inherited traits may therefore differ.

Parents do not pass every experience to their young through genes. A dog that learns to fetch does not give its puppies that learned skill through genes. A scar caused by a parent's injury is not a scar its puppies inherit.

When comparing parents and offspring, describe the feature you mean. Similar looks can involve inherited information, while a shared learned skill can come from similar practice.

Genetic means to do with genes. Genes carry information inherited from parents. That information affects how living things grow and develop.

An inherited feature need not be visible at birth. Some features become easier to notice as an animal grows. A baby's eye colour can change during early life, even though genes affect natural eye colour.

Genes do not explain every difference on their own. Surroundings and experiences can affect traits too. Exercise can increase muscle strength. Sunlight can cause a suntan.

Two relatives having a similar feature does not by itself prove that the similarity was inherited. They might both have learned the same skill. Use information about how a feature developed when deciding which word fits.

Variation means differences among members of the same species. Compare the same feature in several living things. Dogs can differ in fur pattern. Plants of one species can differ in height.

First describe what you observe. Saying that two plants have different heights names a difference. Explaining why they differ needs more information.

Genes can affect height. Growing conditions can affect it too. One plant might receive more light or water than another. A height difference alone does not tell you how much came from inherited information and how much came from the environment.

Variation is the name for the differences. It is not itself an explanation of their cause.

An acquired characteristic develops through experiences or surroundings during life. An injury may leave a scar. Practice may build a skill. Exercise may strengthen muscles. These particular changes are acquired rather than received through genes from parents.

Environment means the surroundings and conditions in which a living thing lives. Light, water and food can affect growth. Different conditions can add to variation within a species.

Many features have more than one influence. Genes can affect muscles, while exercise can change their strength. Calling an increase from exercise acquired does not mean that genes have no effect on muscles.

Describe the particular feature or change and what caused it. This helps you choose between inherited and acquired without treating every feature as having only one influence.