Offspring look like their parents

Science · Organisms & Life Processes · ages 6-9

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Baby animals and plants always look exactly the same as their parents.
Circle one: True False
Which of these is a feature offspring often inherit from their parents?
- The weather outside
- Eye colour
- What day it is
Which pair shows a young living thing that looks like its parent?
- A kitten and a sunflower
- A puppy and an oak tree
- A kitten and a cat
A gardener plants seeds from a sunflower with yellow petals. What is most likely true about the new plants that grow?
- Yellow flowers like the parent plant
- They will grow blue flowers
- They will not grow any flowers at all
Leo says his puppy's fur colour, ear shape, and size all come from its parents. Which of these is usually NOT inherited?
- Fur colour
- Ear shape
- What toys it likes to play with
Priya's two kittens both have orange fur like their mother, but one has a white spot and the other doesn't. What does this tell us?
- One kitten is not really related to the mother
- Offspring can look like a parent but differ
- All kittens from the same mother must look identical
Sam says, 'My sister and I have the same parents, so we must look exactly alike.' What is wrong with Sam's reasoning?
- Offspring of the same parents can still look different from each other
- Siblings can never share any features
- Sam is right, they must look identical
Tom says, 'Only baby animals look like their parents. Baby plants don't.' Is Tom correct?
- Yes, only animals show family resemblance
- No, plants and animals never resemble their parents
- No, baby plants can resemble their parent plant too, like a sunflower seed growing into a sunflower

Answer key

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

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False · Offspring are similar to their parents, but never an exact copy.
Eye colour · Eye colour is passed down from parents. The weather and the day have nothing to do with inheritance.
A kitten and a cat · A kitten and its parent cat share features, like fur colour, because they are parent and offspring.
Yellow flowers like the parent plant · New sunflowers usually grow flowers like their parent plant, with small differences.
What toys it likes to play with · Toy preference isn't inherited. It's something a puppy picks up as it grows, unlike fur colour and ear shape.
Offspring can look like a parent but differ · Even kittens from the same mother can differ from her, and from each other, a little.
Offspring of the same parents can still look different from each other · Even siblings with the same parents are not identical. Each one is a little different.
No, baby plants can resemble their parent plant too, like a sunflower seed growing into a sunflower · Both baby animals and baby plants can look like their parents. A sunflower seed grows into a sunflower much like the parent plant.