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SavannahYear 8
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ScienceYear 9 Science: inheritance, energetics, climate, magnetism and space30 min★★★ difficulty

Heredity: passing information on

Every cell in you carries a set of instructions that came half from each parent. Heredity is the story of how that information is copied, shuffled and passed on.

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Understand heredity as the process by which genetic information is transmitted from one generation to the next

Key learning points

  • • DNA, genes and chromosomes
  • • Alleles and characteristics
  • • Gametes and fertilisation
  • • Inherited and environmental variation

This lesson at a glance

  • 30 minutes
  • 19 parts to scroll through
  • 4 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

heredityprocessgeneticinformationtransmitted

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 19 · Discover5%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 19

Watch first

Heredity: passing information on

An English teaching video on this topic from LearnScienceWithB. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Understand heredity as the process by which genetic information is transmitted from one generation to the next

2

What you already know

Part 2 of 19

Before we start

What you already know

You should already know that cells contain a nucleus and that living things reproduce.

Recap: science-y8-reproduction
3

Key words

Part 3 of 19

Key words

Words you'll need today

Gene
A section of DNA coding for a characteristic.
Chromosome
A long thread of DNA in the nucleus.
Allele
A version of a gene.
Variation
Differences between individuals of the same species.
4

Learning cycle

Part 4 of 19

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Where the information sits

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

5

Explore the idea

Part 5 of 19

Learn

DNA, genes and chromosomes

DNA is a long molecule coiled into chromosomes inside the nucleus. A gene is a section of that DNA carrying the code for one characteristic. Human body cells contain 23 pairs of chromosomes, one of each pair from each parent. The full set of genetic information is the genome, and every body cell carries the same copy.

6

Explore the idea

Part 6 of 19

Learn

Alleles and characteristics

Most genes come in different versions called alleles. Because chromosomes come in pairs, you carry two alleles for most genes. A dominant allele shows its effect even if only one copy is present; a recessive allele only shows when both copies are recessive. This is why a characteristic can skip a generation and reappear.

7

Quick check

Part 7 of 19

Quick check

A gene is...

8

Quick check

Part 8 of 19

Quick check

Human body cells contain...

9

Reset break

Part 9 of 19

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
10

Learning cycle

Part 10 of 19

Learning cycle 2 of 2

How it is passed on

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

11

Explore the idea

Part 11 of 19

Learn

Gametes and fertilisation

Gametes carry only one chromosome from each pair, so a sperm and an egg each supply half the set. At fertilisation the halves combine and the full number is restored. Which chromosome from each pair ends up in a particular gamete is essentially random, which is why siblings with the same parents are not identical.

12

Explore the idea

Part 12 of 19

Learn

Inherited and environmental variation

Some variation is inherited, some comes from the environment, and much is a combination. Eye colour is inherited; a scar is environmental; height depends on both genes and nutrition. Mutations are changes in the DNA code: most have no effect, some are harmful, and a very small number give an advantage, which is where natural selection begins.

13

Quick check

Part 13 of 19

Quick check

A recessive characteristic shows when...

14

Quick check

Part 14 of 19

Quick check

Which is purely environmental variation?

15

Common mix-ups

Part 15 of 19

Common mix-ups

Things people often get wrong

  • People often use gene and chromosome to mean the same thing. A chromosome carries many genes.
  • People often think identical twins must be identical in every way. They share DNA, but environment still causes differences.
16

Challenge round

Part 16 of 19

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

17

Challenge round

Part 17 of 19

Game · Fill the gaps

Finish the sentences

Choose the word that belongs in each gap.

The full set of ____ information is the genome, and every body cell carries the same copy.

18

Mastery quiz

Part 18 of 19

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Heredity: passing information on

6 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

  1. 1. Chromosomes are found in the...

  2. 2. Alleles are...

  3. 3. Gametes contain...

  4. 4. Siblings differ genetically mainly because...

  5. 5. A mutation is...

  6. 6. Height is best described as...

19

Lesson round-up

Part 19 of 19

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Case study

Why the school greenhouse failed

A science club grew tomato plants in the school greenhouse. In June the plants grew well: leaves were dark green and the fruit set quickly. In July the club went away for two weeks and left the greenhouse door shut. When they came back, the leaves were curled and pale and most of the fruit had dropped.

The club had a data logger inside. It showed the temperature reached 46 °C on several afternoons and the soil moisture fell close to zero. The club knew photosynthesis needs light, water and carbon dioxide, and that enzymes in a plant work best in a narrow range of temperature. Above that range the enzymes stop working properly.

The club repeated the summer with the door propped open and a water bottle drip on each pot. Temperature peaked at 31 °C and the plants survived.

Written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

  1. Name the variable the club changed the second time, and one variable they kept the same.
  2. Explain, using the words photosynthesis and enzymes, why the plants were damaged in July.
  3. Write a conclusion for the club's report, saying how far the evidence supports it.

  • Method and results

    Writing

    Write the aim, what you changed, what you measured and what you kept the same, then record your results in a table.

    1 page + results table

  • Conclusion

    Writing

    Explain what your results show and why, using the scientific words from the lesson. Say how you know you can trust them.

    6–8 sentences

  • Labelled diagram

    Diagram

    Draw the apparatus or the process in pencil, label it fully, and photograph it.

    1 labelled diagram

  • Reading and notes

    Reading

    Read the lesson text again and write the key ideas in your own words.

    Half a page of notes

Saved as you type.

Part 1 of 19 · Watch & discover

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