Traits: born with it, or grew into it?

Science · Organisms & Life Processes · ages 8-9

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Traits are only decided by what a plant or animal inherits from its parents.
Circle one: True False
Which of these is something in the environment that can affect how a plant grows?
- Sunlight
- The seed's genes
- The plant's species name
Which trait is inherited and does not change with environment?
- Muscle strength
- Eye colour
- Plant height
Look at the plant heights. How many more centimetres did the sunny plant grow than the shady plant?
Answer: ______________
Two puppies from the same litter get different amounts of exercise and food. Which trait is most likely to end up different because of this?
- Eye colour
- Fur colour
- Muscle strength
A scientist studies two rabbits from the same parents. One gets plenty of food, the other very little. The well-fed rabbit grows much bigger. What does this show?
- Traits can be shaped by environment as well as genes
- Rabbit size is only set by genes
- Food does not affect rabbit size
Two trees grow from seeds off the same parent tree. One grows in rich soil with lots of water, the other in dry, poor soil. What is the best explanation if the first tree grows much taller?
- Tree height is always exactly the same for every tree from one parent
- The trees must have come from different parent trees
- The environment, like soil and water, affected how tall the tree grew
Priya says: 'Muscle strength can be inherited, so exercise can never make muscles stronger.' What is wrong with her thinking?
- Muscles cannot be inherited at all
- Muscle strength is also shaped by environment, so exercise can change it
- Exercise only affects eye colour, not muscles

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Traits: born with it, or grew into it? W1-mt_Tls5qJ4p0L-s1

False · Traits come from both what is inherited and from the environment a living thing grows up in.
Sunlight · Sunlight comes from the environment, not from genes, and it changes how much a plant grows.
Eye colour · Eye colour is set by genes at birth. Muscle strength and plant height can change with exercise, food, or sunlight.
18 · 30 cm minus 12 cm is 18 cm. More sunlight helped the sunny plant grow taller.
Muscle strength · Muscle strength changes with exercise and food. Eye colour and fur colour are set by genes.
Traits can be shaped by environment as well as genes · Even rabbits with the same parents can end up different sizes if their environment, like food, is different.
The environment, like soil and water, affected how tall the tree grew · Same parents means similar genes, so the size difference points to environment, like soil and water, shaping the trait.
Muscle strength is also shaped by environment, so exercise can change it · Muscle strength has both an inherited part and an environmental part. Exercise is an environmental factor that can make muscles stronger.