Genetics includes the study of heredity, or how traits are passed from parents to offspring. The topics of genetics vary and are constantly changing as we learn more about the genome and how we are influenced by our genes.
Inheritance Patterns and Punnett Squares
Notes and Slides on Mendelian Genetics – basic lesson to introduce genetics and probability
Simple Genetics Practice – using mendelian genetics and Punnett squares
Peas, Please – practice setting up squares for basic Mendelian traits in pea plants (Key, TpT)
How to Solve Dihybrid Crosses – step by step guide on setting up 4×4 squares and determining ratios
Advanced Bunny Genetic Crosses with two traits – also includes fruit fly genetics
Bunny Genetics 2 – basic crosses, rabbits have gray or white hair, black or red eyes
Practice Punnett Squares with Skinny Pigs – hairless guinea pigs are the result of a recessive gene (Key, TpT)
Horse Genetics – basic practice worksheet on monohybrid and dihybrid crosses, using a gait trait found in horses
Fruit Fly Genetics (Vg) – practice worksheet on vestigial wing flies and eye color, which is sex-linked (Key, TpT)
Genetics Practice Problems – crosses involving guinea pigs, goats, and pea plants; monohybrid and dihybrid crosses
Explore the Genetics of Corn Snakes – dihybrid crosses with corn snakes, color is polygenic
Blood Disorder Genetics – a worksheet with genetics problems that relate to specific disorders: sickle cell anemia, hemophilia, and Von Willebrand disease.
Heredity Wordsearch – fill in the blank, find the words on a puzzle, basic vocabulary
Genetics Review Guide – focus on vocabulary, Mendel’s crosses, and practice genetics with Punnett squares
Simulations and Hands-on Activities
Penny Genetics – flip a coin to compare actual outcomes versus predicted outcomes from a Punnett square
Heredity Simulation – use popsicle sticks to show how alleles are inherited
Variations on a Human Face – toss a penny to determine the features of a face, such as freckles, dimples; then draw that face.
Paper Pets – another simulation using paper models with traits for eyes, nose, mouth, and hair.
Codominance, Multiple Alleles, and Sex-Linkage
Codominance and Incomplete Dominance – practice genetics on roan cows and pink flowers
Cow Genetics – roan coloration and horns, also includes a two-trait cross
Slides and Notes on Sex-Linked Genes
Fruit Flies and X-Linked Traits – practice crosses that involve sex-linkage; fruit flies and calico cats
Sex Linked Traits – students practice doing crosses; tortoiseshell cats, colorblindness, and eye color in fruit flies
Drosophila (Fruit fly) Simulation – use a simulator to run crosses with flies to determine phenotype ratios and perform chi square analysis
Calico Cats and X Linked Traits – more practice with sex-linked traits, see also advanced version that goes into tortoiseshell vs calico
Why Are There No Male Calico Cats – case study and slide presentation that explore X inactivation and coat color in cats
Epistasis in Labrador Retrievers – explore the black (B_E_) , yellow (B_ee) , and brown (bbE_ ) color patterns in dogs
Sexy Chickens – inheritance patterns in birds, using the ZW sex determination concept
Blood Type Genetics – practice with blood type crosses and other ABO type alleles, multiple allele traits
Multiple Allele Traits in Chickens – shows how combs are inherited (rrpp x RRpp)
Frizzle Frazzled Chickens – incomplete dominance in feather types, with double dominant being unhealthy
How Do Genes Determine Skin Color? – this case study uses presentation slides to explore a real-life scenario where a Nigerian mother has two very fair skinned children.
Design-a-Species – using the rules of inheritance (Mendel), create an organism; with dominant and recessive traits, multiple allele traits, and codominance
Genetics Project – Create a species and show how its traits are influenced by genetics
Genetics Overview for AP Biology – summarizes the various types of crosses students may encounter on the AP test
Genetics and Statistics
Hardy-Weinberg Problem Set – statistical analysis, using HW equation and some dragons
Hardy Weinberg Simulation – track an allele in population by simulating how parents pass alleles to offspring
Corn Genetics and Chi Square – statistical analysis, using preserved corn and counting kernels
Albino Corn Genetics – grow corn, 3:1 albino ratio, lab report analyzes F1, F2 crosses
Chi Square Modeling Using Candy – count the number of each color in a bag to determine if they occur in equal proportions
Drosophila Virtual Lab – choose fruit fly parents and analyze offspring in this virtual lab
Genetics of Wisconsin Fast Plants – grow plants from seeds and analyze phenotype; perform chi square analysis
Human Genetics
Case Study – Cystic Fibrosis Mutations
Cystic Fibrosis and Cell Membrane Transport
SRY not SRY – case study on the sex determining region of the Y chromosomes
Case Study – How Do Genes Determine Skin Color
- Explore Inheritance Patterns of Sickle Cell Anemia
- Practice Pedigrees on Human Genetic Disorders
- Analyzing Human Pedigrees for AP Biology (includes sex linked traits)
- Exploring Autosomal Dominant Traits
Your Genes Your Choices – this is a more involved group assignment where groups read scenarios about genetic testing and ethics involved.
Genetic Science Ethics – survey as a group ethical questions involved genetics (cloning, gene therapy..)
Name the Gene – Explore Genes with BLAST – submit gene sequences to determine the related human trait