Heredity

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/heredity

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Heredity (also known as inheritance)
2. What is the fundamental unit of inheritance?Gene, a segment of DNA that codes for a functional product
3. Why do we have our parents' eyes or smiles?We get our parents' eyes or smiles because genes carry the instructions that make proteins shaping our features.
4. How did scientists learn about genes?Scientists first learned about genes from Mendel's pea plant experiments, then later found DNA's double‑helix structure.

Allele: Different versions of the same gene, contributing to variations in traits.
Phenotype: The observable physical or biochemical characteristics of an organism, determined by genotype and environment.
Genotype: The genetic makeup of an organism, specifically the alleles it possesses for a particular gene or set of genes.
Meiosis: A type of cell division that reduces the chromosome number by half, creating gametes for sexual reproduction.