Inherited /Acquired Traits and Instincts/Learned Behaviors

Which of the following is most likely inherited by flowering plants?

• lean on a pole
• the ability to produce cones
• the ability to produce seeds
• forming different shapes when trimmed

Which of these are characteristics of inherited traits?

• the ability to speak in front of a crowd
• having green eyes and brown hair
• mastering multiplication facts
• becoming an extrovert

Which of the following describes a learned behavior in a dog?

• eating meat
• running fast
• digging holes
• guiding sheep

Which of these is not an instinctive behavior? 

• a bird building a nest
• a turtle burying its eggs
• a bear hibernating in winter
• a horse pulling a plow

A person who breeds animals keeps careful records of the fur color of parents and offspring from each generation. The fur color is a trait transferred from generation to generation. What are the structures that carry the information for these traits?

• the skin
• the genes
• the nerves
• the cytoplasm

Karen has two sisters and one younger brother. She is the only blonde in her family. However, everyone in her family has brown eyes.
Which of these is being described in the passage?

• gene display
• inherited traits
• learned behaviors
• nature versus nurture

True or False
Only humans can pass down traits.

• True
• False

True or False
A learned behavior is an acquired trait.

• True
• False

Some birds fly south for the winter. Birds know when and where to fly because of ________________. 

• camouflage
• mimicry
• instinct
• hibernation

Smelts are fish that lay their eggs in the sand on beaches. When the eggs hatch, the babies know to go to the water. This is an example of _______________________.

• instinct
• hibernation
• camouflage
• learned behavior