Heredity
Grade 5: Standard 4 - Heredity
Conceptual Strand 4 Plants and animals reproduce and transmit hereditary information
between generations.
Guiding Question 4 What are the principal mechanisms by which living things reproduce and
transmit information between parents and offspring?
GLE 0507.4.1 Describe how genetic information is passed from parents to offspring during
reproduction.
GLE 0507.4.2 Recognize that some characteristics are inherited while others result
frominteractions with the environment.
0507.4.1 Explain how genetic information is transmitted from parents to offspring
0507.4.2 Create a chart that compares hereditary and environmental traits.
0507.4.3 Distinguish between a scar and a birthmark in terms of their origins.
SPI 0507.4.1 Recognize that information is passed from parent to offspring during
reproduction.
SPI 0507.4.2 Distinguish between inherited traits and those that can be attributed to the
Adaptation
A trait or characteristic that
helps an organism survive in
its environment
Chromosome
A threadlike structure in the
nucleus, made up of DNA
DNA
DNA is a long fiber, like a hair, only
thinner and longer. It is made from
two strands that stick together with a
slight twist.
Dominant
A trait expressed when an
organism receives genes for
two different forms of a trait
Environment
All the living and nonliving
things that surround and
affect an organism
Gene
A short segment of DNA that
determines one of an
organism’s inherited traits
Heredity (Inherited Trait)
A characteristic passed from
parents to their offspring
Hybrid
An organism that has two
different genes for the same
trait
Instinct
A behavior that an organism
inherits
Learned Behavior
A behavior that an animal
acquires through experience
Life Cycle
The stages that a living
thing passes through as it
grows and changes
The Life Cycle of Frogs
Mitosis
The process by which most
cells divide
Mutation
A change in the genes of an
organism
Nucleotide
The basic structural unit of
DNA
Recessive
A trait not expressed when
an organism receives genes
for two different forms of a
trait
Selective Breeding
The practice of breeding
plants and animals for
desired traits
Sexual Reproduction
The production of offspring
by the union of male and
female gametes
Asexual Reproduction
Production of offspring from
only one parent