Inherited and Acquired Traits

Inherited and Acquired Traits

Middle School

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Learning Objectives

• Define and tell the difference between inherited traits and acquired traits.

• Identify examples of inherited physical traits and behaviors, known as instincts.

• Identify examples of acquired traits and behaviors that are learned.

• Explain how genes pass down inherited traits from parents to offspring.

Key Vocabulary

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Traits

Personal characteristics of living things, such as how you look or what you like to do.

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Inherited Traits

A characteristic that a living thing gets from its parents before it is born.

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Acquired Trait

A trait that a living thing develops or picks up after birth while growing up.

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Behaviors

The different ways that a living thing acts or responds to its environment.

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Instincts

An inherited behavior that an animal is born with, which helps it to survive.

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Species

A group or type of living thing, like humans, dogs, or cats.

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What Are Inherited Traits?

• Inherited traits are passed from parents to offspring through genes made of DNA.

• ​You are born with traits like your eye, hair, and skin color.

• Plants and animals also inherit traits, like black cats having black kittens.

• Other examples are height, foot size, freckles, and even some inherited diseases.

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Multiple Choice

Which of the following is determined by genes and passed down from parents to offspring?

• Favorite food

• Eye color

• Learning to ride a bike

• Speaking a language

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What Are Acquired Traits?

• Acquired traits are developed during your life and are not inherited from parents.

• They are caused by your interactions with the environment, like learning new skills.

• Learning to play the piano or speak a language are learned behaviors.

• Your manners, food preferences, and interest in sports are also acquired traits.

Multiple Choice

Based on the slide, which of these is an example of an acquired or learned trait?

• Your favorite sport

• Having freckles

• Natural hair color

• Your height

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Inherited Behaviors: Instincts

Migration

• Some animals move to other places to survive throughout the changing seasons.

• This inherited behavior of traveling to new areas is called migration.

• Geese and whales migrate to find warmer climates or more food.

Hibernation

• Other animals survive by entering a long period of deep sleep.

• This instinct, called hibernation, helps them save energy when food is scarce.

• Bears are well-known animals that hibernate through the cold winter months.

Multiple Choice

What is an example of an instinct, or an inherited behavior?

• A person learning to speak Spanish

• A dog learning to fetch

• A spider spinning a web

• A child learning to play the piano

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Common Misconceptions About Traits

Misconception	Correction
All traits are physical.	Traits can be physical, behavioral, or a predisposition to a medical condition.
Learned skills can be passed on to your children.	Only inherited traits are passed on. Acquired skills are not.
All behaviors are learned from the environment.	Many behaviors, called instincts, are inherited and present from birth.
If you have a trait, it must come from your parents.	Acquired traits like scars develop from your experiences, not your parents.

Multiple Choice

Why do the offspring of two black cats likely also have black fur?

• Because fur color is an inherited trait passed through genes.

• Because the kittens learned to be black from their parents.

• Because black fur is an acquired trait from the environment.

• Because all cats of that species are born black.

Multiple Choice

How does the environment play a role in the development of an organism's traits?

• The environment changes an organism's inherited DNA.

• The environment is the source of all instincts for animals.

• The environment determines an organism's eye color and height.

• The environment is where organisms learn behaviors and develop preferences.

Multiple Choice

A wolf pup is born with the instinct to hunt, but it learns the best techniques for hunting deer from its pack. Analyze this situation to differentiate its inherited and acquired behaviors.

• Both the drive to hunt and the techniques are inherited traits.

• The drive to hunt is an inherited instinct, while the specific techniques for hunting deer are learned (acquired).

• Hunting is fully learned, and being in a pack is inherited.

• The drive to hunt is acquired, while the specific techniques are inherited.

Multiple Choice

Predict the most likely outcome for a baby spider that was raised alone, away from all other spiders. What behavior would it still demonstrate and why?

• It would not know how to spin a web because it never learned from other spiders.

• It would learn to hunt without a web because it has no other choice.

• It would spin a web because web-spinning is an inherited instinct.

• It would try to build a nest like a bird because it is confused.

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Summary

• All living things have unique characteristics called traits.

• Inherited traits and instincts are passed from parents through genes.

• Acquired traits and learned behaviors develop from the environment.

• Every individual is a unique mix of inherited and acquired traits.

Poll

On a scale of 1-4, how confident are you about the concepts covered in today's review?

• 1

• 2

• 3

• 4