PencilGo

Grade 7 · Science

7th grade Traits from genes, traits from surroundings, and traits from both worksheet

6 printable versionsBuilding Confidence10 questions · answer keyFree · no account

Level: Building Confidence · On Level · Challenge Me

When it’s done, scan the sheet with your phone and PencilGo marks it and picks the next one. Create a free account

Version
Print

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

Grade 7 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. Ari grows two pea plants in the same garden bed. One has violet flowers and one has white flowers. What decides the flower color?

    • The soil, which changed each plant's genes
    • The genes from the parent plants
    • Practice, since each plant learned its color
    • The garden bed the plants share
  2. Bo learned to ride a bike by practicing all summer. Where does the skill of bike riding come from?

    • Practice, which changed the rider's genes
    • Practice, so a child is born able to ride
    • Practice, so it is not in the genes
    • Genes, so it was inherited from parents
  3. Esme taught a dog to shake paws. Will the dog's puppies be born knowing the trick?

    • Yes, practice changed the dog's genes for tricks
    • Yes, the trick is now in the dog's genes
    • No, a learned trick is not in genes
    • Yes, because traits come from genes
  4. Jun reads a trait chart for bean seedlings. What trait do the seedlings from the dark cupboard have?

    • Pale and short
    • Green and tall
    • Green and short, like the other row
    • Pale and tall
  5. Kira reads the same chart. What trait do the seedlings from the bright window have?

    Use the picture in question 4.

    • Pale and tall, like the other row
    • Pale and short
    • Green and tall
    • Green and short
  6. Luz compares the two rows. Which column holds the cause of the different looks?

    Use the picture in question 4.

    • Genes: the light changed the seeds' genes
    • Trait: the looks cause the light to differ
    • Genes: the two rows have different genes
    • Surroundings: dark or bright
  7. Milo reads a science word list. Which meaning goes with the words inherited trait?

    • A trait that changes the parents' genes when it shows
    • A trait gained by practice, such as a skill
    • A trait the surroundings decide on their own
    • A trait passed from parents through their genes
  8. Noah reads the word surroundings in a trait chart. Which meaning fits?

    • The parts inside the cells of a living thing
    • The soil under one plant and nothing else near it
    • Light, water, soil and things around a living thing
    • The genes a living thing gets from its two parents
  9. Ren fills in the missing trait for the second pea plant. Which trait goes in the box?

    • Pink flowers, since pink is between the two
    • White flowers, since the genes say white
    • Violet flowers, since the sun changed the plant's genes
    • Violet flowers, since the bed is the same
  10. Zee fills in the blank Surroundings box for the green seedlings. Which goes in the box?

    • A wet paper towel, since green needs water
    • A bright window, since light turns leaves green
    • Different genes, since the looks are different
    • The dark cupboard, since the seeds are the same
PencilGopencilgo.com

7th grade Traits from genes, traits from surroundings, and traits from both worksheet – printable
Print: 123456

About this worksheet

Genes and surroundings: where a trait comes from. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can read a trait chart and say whether a trait comes from the genes, from the surroundings, or from both.
  • I can say that the surroundings change how the genes show, not the genes themselves.
  • I can say that a skill or shape gained during life is not passed on to offspring.

Standard: MS-LS1-5

Words to know

trait: A feature of a living thing, such as flower color or a skill

gene: The part of a living thing's cells that holds instructions for a trait; offspring get genes from parents

inherited trait: A trait that comes from genes passed from the parents

surroundings: The light, water, soil and other conditions around a living thing

learned trait: A skill or shape gained during life; it is not passed on in genes

cutting: A piece cut from one plant that grows into a new plant with the same genes

model data: Numbers made up to show an idea

Common mistakes

Your child thought a trait comes from genes alone. Look at bean seedlings grown in a dark cupboard and in a bright window: same kind of seed, different looks. Ask, 'What in the surroundings changed it?'

Your child thought a skill or shape gained in life is passed on to offspring. Try asking, 'If a hedge is trimmed, are its seeds trimmed?' Say that genes from the parents are what pass on, not things gained in life.

Your child thought light, soil or water changes the plant's genes. Try a bean seedling moved from dark to light: it turns green, but its genes are the same. Ask, 'Did the genes change, or how they show?'

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with traits from genes, traits from surroundings, and traits from both?

Your child thought a trait comes from genes alone. Look at bean seedlings grown in a dark cupboard and in a bright window: same kind of seed, different looks. Ask, 'What in the surroundings changed it?'

Are these 7th 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.

More grade 7 science

See all grade 7 science

Every sheet you scan goes into your child’s record: dated, marked and ready for the year-end portfolio. Homeschool records