Traits from genes, traits from surroundings, and traits from both

Grade 7 Science Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. 1.

   A park ranger in Alaska says an arctic fox has a brown coat in summer and a white coat in winter. Bo sorts the trait. Which fits best?

   • Surroundings: cold air changes the fox's genes to white
   • Genes: the coat color is fixed from the day of birth
   • Learned: the fox practices changing its coat each season
   • Both: the genes and the length of the day
2. 2.

   A bigleaf hydrangea in a school garden has blue flowers. The soil there is acidic. Jun sorts the trait. Which fits best?

   • Soil: the acid changed the plant's genes to blue
   • Genes: the plant was born blue
   • Both: its genes, and the acidic soil
   • Learned: the plant copied a blue neighbor
3. 3.

   The same bigleaf hydrangea is moved to alkaline soil. Kira predicts the color of the new flowers. What is the best prediction?

   • Pink, since less aluminum is available
   • White, since the plant needs more aluminum
   • Blue, since the genes stay the same
   • Pink, since the soil changed the genes
4. 4.

   Luz's class grew cuttings from one coleus plant for four weeks. Row 3 repeats the water of row 1. Predict the height in the box.

   • About 12 cm, since the same genes give one height
   • About 24 cm, since water changes the genes
   • About 18 cm, since the water matches row 1
   • About 15 cm, since the height is halfway between
5. 5.

   Milo turns a pot so the window light now comes from the right. What will the new shoots do?

   • Bend toward the right, since shoots grow toward light
   • Stay bent left, since the old bend is in the genes
   • Bend left, since the old light changed the genes
   • Bend away from the right, since shoots avoid light
6. 6.

   Pia's class grows hydrangea cuttings from one bush in two soils. What must stay the same in both groups?

   • The genes, which change with the soil
   • The flower color that appears
   • The acidity of the soil
   • The parent bush, the pot size and the water
7. 7.

   Ren's class tests whether light from one side bends seedlings. What should the class measure?

   • The kind of seed planted in each pot
   • The bend of each shoot from straight up
   • The side of the pot the light comes from
   • The genes inside each seedling's cells
8. 8.

   Two hydrangea plants from one bush grow in different beds. One has blue flowers and one has pink flowers. Tala explains the difference. Which explanation fits?

   • Bed 2 soil changed the plant's genes to pink
   • The plants must match, so a bed was mislabeled
   • The genes differ, since the colors differ
   • The soil acidity differs, and the genes are the same
9. 9.

   An arctic fox grows a white coat each fall and a brown coat each spring. Zee explains the change. Which explanation fits?

   • The genes set the coat, so the season has no effect on it
   • The fox learns to turn white by watching its parents each year
   • Shorter days trigger a white coat; the genes stay the same
   • Cold weather changes the genes, so the fur turns white each fall
10. 10.

    A bean plant by a window grew bent toward the glass. Ari plants seeds from that plant in a room with light from straight above. The seedlings grow straight. Why?

    • The light changed the seeds' genes to grow straight
    • The bend was passed on, but the new light hid it
    • The seedlings have different genes, since they look different
    • The bend came from the light, so it is not passed on