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9th grade Traits controlled by many genes, and their bell-shaped spread worksheet

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Traits controlled by many genes, and their bell-shaped spread

Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. Ari reads a bar graph of bean seed masses. How many seeds have a mass of 430 mg?

    • 17 seeds
    • 22 seeds
    • 3 seeds
    • 9 seeds
  2. Bo reads a bar graph for a second lot of bean seeds. Which mass has the most seeds?

    • 530 mg
    • 540 mg
    • 24 seeds, the height of the tallest bar
    • 500 mg, the lightest class
  3. Jun reads the filled square for a model wheat cross, AaBb × AaBb. How many of the 16 boxes hold exactly 2 dark alleles?

    • 1 box, like a corner box
    • 4 boxes
    • 8 boxes
    • 6 boxes
  4. Kira reads the same square. How many of the 16 boxes hold exactly 4 dark alleles?

    Use the picture in question 3.

    • 16 boxes
    • 4 boxes
    • 1 box
    • 6 boxes
  5. Luz reads the same square again. How many of the 16 boxes hold exactly 1 dark allele?

    Use the picture in question 3.

    • 2 boxes, one for each genotype
    • 4 boxes
    • 6 boxes
    • 1 box, like the corner boxes
  6. Read this first

    Wheat kernel color, 16 equally likely offspring (model data)

    dark allelesoffspring
    01
    14
    2?
    34
    41
  7. Milo reads a count table for a model wheat cross, AaBb × AaBb. What number goes in the blank?

    • 4 offspring
    • 1 offspring
    • 6 offspring
    • 8 offspring
  8. Wheat kernel color, 64 equally likely offspring (model data)

    dark allelesoffspring
    01
    16
    215
    3?
    415
    56
    61
  9. Noah reads a count table for a model wheat cross with 3 genes. What number goes in the blank?

    • 30 offspring
    • 1 offspring
    • 15 offspring
    • 20 offspring
  10. Pia reads a second count table for the model wheat cross with 3 genes. What number goes in the blank?

    • 15 offspring
    • 20 offspring
    • 1 offspring
    • 6 offspring
  11. Trait card (model data)

    traitclassesgaps between classes
    bean seed mass7none
  12. Tala reads a trait card for bean seed mass. Which choice names this kind of variation?

    • Discontinuous variation: two or very few clear groups
    • Soil variation: the soil alone sets the mass
    • Blended variation: offspring mix the traits of two parents
    • Continuous variation: many small steps with no clear groups
  13. Use this

    Counts of offspring by dark alleles (model data). Columns: dark alleles | table P (of 4) | table Q (of 16). Row 1: 0 | 1 | 1. Row 2: 1 | 2 | 4. Row 3: 2 | 1 | 6. Row 4: 3 | - | 4. Row 5: 4 | - | 1.

  14. Zee compares two count tables. One comes from a cross with 1 gene and one from a cross with 2 genes. Which choice names the 2-gene table?

    • Table Q, since 5 classes need 2 genes
    • Table Q, since 16 offspring means 16 classes
    • Table P, since 3 classes are enough for 2 genes
    • Table P, since a trait is controlled by one gene
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9th grade Traits controlled by many genes, and their bell-shaped spread worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

Polygenic traits: many genes, bell-shaped spread and the environment. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can say that two or more genes shape a polygenic trait, and that the environment also plays a part in many of them.
  • I can say that continuous variation is a spread of many small steps with no clear groups, and that a trait with two clear groups (violet or white pea flowers) fits one gene.
  • I can read the 4 by 4 square for AaBb × AaBb in the additive model (each dark allele, a capital letter, adds 1 unit; each light allele adds 0) and count the boxes with 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 dark alleles: 1, 4, 6, 4, 1 out of 16.
  • I can fill a blank count in a table so the counts add up to the total (16 for two genes, 64 for three genes), and know that the counts for three genes are 1, 6, 15, 20, 15, 6, 1.
  • I can say that the middle class is the largest in a bell shape and the two ends are the smallest, and that more genes give more classes (2 genes make 5, 3 genes make 7, n genes make 2n + 1) and a smoother bell.
  • I can read the mode, the range and the mean from a histogram, and turn a count of boxes into an expected count out of a model total (6 of 16 of 160 is 60).

Standard: HS-LS3-3

Words to know

gene: A stretch of DNA that carries the plan for one trait

allele: One form of a gene, such as a dark form or a light form

polygenic trait: A trait influenced by two or more genes

continuous variation: Many small steps between the smallest and largest, with no clear groups

additive alleles: Alleles that each add a little to the trait, such as 1 unit per dark allele

class: One step of the trait, such as the group with 2 dark alleles

histogram: A bar graph where each bar counts the plants in one class

mean, mode, range: The average, the most common class, and the tallest class minus the shortest

Common mistakes

Your child said one gene sets the whole trait. Many traits, such as plant height or kernel color, are influenced by two or more genes. Ask your child how many classes 1 gene makes and how many 2 genes make.

Your child thought the middle class is the rarest. In a bell shape the middle class is the largest and the two ends are the smallest. Ask your child which bar is tallest and where it sits.

Your child said genes alone decide a trait. The surroundings also influence a polygenic trait, so the same seeds grow taller in richer soil. Ask your child what stayed the same and what changed.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with traits controlled by many genes, and their bell-shaped spread?

Your child said one gene sets the whole trait. Many traits, such as plant height or kernel color, are influenced by two or more genes. Ask your child how many classes 1 gene makes and how many 2 genes make.

Are these 9th grade science worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

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