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7th grade Predict traits with a Punnett square worksheet

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Predict traits with a Punnett square

Grade 7 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

NameDate

Circle the best answer, or write your answer on the line.

  1. Ari’s class plants 40 seeds from a Tt × Tt pea cross. About how many plants would you expect to be dwarf?

  2. Bo reads about 80 seeds from one Rr × Rr pea cross. About how many would you expect to be round?

  3. Esme reads about 60 seeds from a Yy × Yy pea cross. About how many would you expect to be green?

  4. Second-generation pea plants, 705 violet and 224 white. V = violet (dominant), v = white (recessive). Jun reads Mendel’s real counts for pea flower color in the second generation. About what ratio is this, and what were the parents’ letters?

    • About 3 to 1, so both parents were pure violet, VV
    • About 3 to 1, so both parents were mixed, Vv
    • About 1 to 2 to 1, so the colors blended
    • About 1 to 1, so the parents were Vv × vv
  5. 705 violet, 224 white; ratio about 3.15 to 1. Kira sees that Mendel’s 705 to 224 is about 3.15 to 1, not exactly 3 to 1. Why?

    • He miscounted the plants, since the square promises 3 to 1
    • Chance decides each plant, so counts vary near 3 to 1
    • The Punnett square is wrong for peas
    • Some flowers blended into pale violet
  6. Read this first

    Results card (model data)

    120 plants from a Tt × Tt pea cross: 88 tall, 32 dwarf. A 3 to 1 split of 120 is 90 and 30.

  7. Luz’s class grew 120 plants from a Tt × Tt cross and got 88 tall and 32 dwarf. Do the results fit the square?

    • Yes: 88 to 32 is close to 3 to 1
    • No: it should be 60 tall and 60 dwarf
    • Yes: it shows tall and dwarf blending
    • No: it has to be exactly 90 and 30
  8. Pia asks why a test cross pairs the unknown violet plant with a white (vv) plant, not another violet plant. Which answer is best?

    • A violet partner would promise an exact count
    • vv gives only v, so a hidden v shows up as white
    • White plants make more seeds than violet ones
    • The white plant blends the colors so the hidden ones show
  9. V = violet (dominant), v = white (recessive). Cross: VV × Vv. Ren’s friend says Vv pea plants have pale violet flowers, a blend of the two colors. Which response is best?

    • Agree: each letter adds half its color
    • Disagree: Vv flowers are white, since v hides V
    • Agree: Vv shows white with a violet edge
    • Disagree: Vv looks like VV, because V is dominant
  10. Tala’s friend says a Tt × Tt cross with 4 seedlings will have exactly one dwarf. Which response is best?

    • Agree: unless two seedlings blend into medium
    • Disagree: each has a 1 in 4 chance, so 0 to 4 could be dwarf
    • Disagree: tall is dominant, so the seedlings will be tall
    • Agree: the square shows one dwarf box
  11. V = violet (dominant), v = white (recessive). Cross: Vv × Vv. Zee’s friend says two violet pea plants cannot have a white offspring. Which response is best?

    • Agree: white offspring need white parents
    • Disagree: the colors blend and then split apart
    • Disagree: two Vv parents can each pass v, giving vv
    • Agree: violet is dominant, so violet passes on each time
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7th grade Predict traits with a Punnett square worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

Predict traits with a Punnett square. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can fill a Punnett square for one gene with two forms and read which trait each box shows.
  • I can give the chance of a trait as a percent, and the expected number out of many offspring.
  • I can work backward from offspring to parents, use a test cross, and explain why real counts land near, not on, the square's ratio.

Standard: MS-LS3-2

Words to know

gene, allele: A gene is an instruction for a trait; alleles are its forms (V or v)

dominant: The form that shows when at least one copy is there (capital letter)

recessive: The form that shows only with two copies (two small letters)

genotype / phenotype: The letter pair / the trait you can see

homozygous / heterozygous: Two same letters (VV, vv) / two different letters (Vv)

Punnett square: A grid that shows every way the parents' letters can pair up

test cross: Crossing an unknown plant with a vv plant to find its letters

Common mistakes

Your child filled a Punnett box with both letters from one parent. Each box takes one letter from the top and one from the side. Try covering the other boxes and reading across and down together.

Your child thought a plant with one dominant and one recessive letter (such as Vv) shows the recessive trait. With a dominant letter present, the dominant trait shows. Ask your child what the capital letter means.

Your child expected the two traits to mix into an in-between, such as pale violet or medium height. For Mendel’s pea traits the forms do not blend: each plant shows one trait or the other. Ask your child which form a Vv plant shows.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with predict traits with a punnett square?

Your child filled a Punnett box with both letters from one parent. Each box takes one letter from the top and one from the side. Try covering the other boxes and reading across and down together.

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

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