Traits – Why you are the way you

are

Biology – Sumner High SchoolCreated by Mr. Woodbury, Modified by Mrs. Slater

Tell me...

•What do you know about genes?

Two “Line-ups”

•Starting at the teacher desk towards back of room, line up...

•From shortest to tallest

•From (real) lightest color hair to darkest

Survey Research•On your piece of scrap paper, write:

•Ear lobes:

•Hair on fingers:

•Widow’s peak:

•Hair texture:

•Chin:

•Dimples:

•Number:

Survey Research

•Take the Trait Wheel and work with each other to see what traits you have.

•Record on your own paper:

•each trait (yes/no widow’s peak)

•the number you end up as you move outward on the wheel.

So what did we find?

•Which traits were more common in our class(es)?

•Why were these traits more common?

•What about the combinations as found in the trait wheel numbers?

•Which were most common?

•Which were least common?

Your thoughts

•What causes these traits to appear as they do?

•Are the traits tied together somehow?

•Why are some more common than others?

Some terms

•Traits: Characteristics that can be passed down biologically (not behaviorally) from parents to offspring.

•Traits have variations

•Some easy to see (yes/no)

•Others within a range (shades of hair color)

Key Ideas

•Living things get physical traits from the “parents” or the previous generation.

•We say that that traits are inherited, so heredity is the passing of traits from parents to offspring.

Where do traits come from?

•Traits come from many different proteins doing their jobs.

•Hormones that send signals

•Membrane proteins

•Enzymes: metabolism, breakdown, building things

•Structures: muscles, tendons, hair, skin

Where do proteins come from?

•Proteins are made by the RER/ribosomes, finished by the Golgi and transported in vesicles.

•The instructions for the proteins come from genes.

•Gene: a segment of DNA that codes for a specific trait

What are genes made of?

•Genes come from the DNA in the cell nucleus.

•A sequence of DNA has the code for how a certain protein will be made.

•The protein’s structure determines its function.

Big Picture

TraitProteinGeneDNA

Relate ‘em

•What is the relationship between proteins, DNA, genes and traits?

Protein Synthesis Summary

•DNA unzips

•One strand of DNA is read to make a RNA strand

•3-letter words on RNA code for an amino acid

•Amino acids link together to create a protein

Dominant or Recessive??

Dominant Recessive Ear lobes Free AttachedHair on fingers

Hair No hair

Widow’s peak

Widow’s peak

Straight hairline

Hair Curly Straight Chin Cleft Smooth Smile dimples

Dimples No dimples