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EOG Inherited & Acquired Traits Assessment

Total questions: 35

Worksheet time: 19mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Riding a bicycle

a)

Inherited trait

b)

learned behavior

2.

Spiders spinning webs

a)

Inherited Trait

b)

Learned behavior

3.

Fish swimming

a)

Inherited trait

b)

learned behavior

4.

Speaking English

a)

inherited trait

b)

learned behavior

5.

bird having feathers

a)

inherited trait

b)

learned behavior

6.

making a treehouse

a)

inherited trait

b)

learned behavior

7.

The ways an organism interacts with its environment, including other organisms.

a)

acquired

b)

behavior

c)

inherited

d)

traits

8.

A behavior an organism knows how to do without being taught because it is inherited directly from the organism's parents.

a)

acquired

b)

inherited

c)

instinct

d)

learned

9.

Discovered through interactions with the environment

a)

inherited

b)

instinct

c)

learned

d)

physical

10.

Visually observable

a)

Physical

b)

learned

c)

instinct

d)

inherited

11.

characteristics that are used to describe an organism

a)

learned

b)

traits

c)

physical

d)

acquired

12.

passed genetically from parents to offspring

a)

inherited

b)

acquired

c)

learned

d)

behavior

13.

developed after the organism is born and NOT passed to offspring by parents

a)

behavior

b)

acquired

c)

physical

d)

traits

14.

What statement best describes the relationship between inherited and acquired traits?

a)

Inherited and acquired traits both come from genes.

b)

Inherited and acquired traits are both present at birth.

c)

Acquired traits come from genes and inherited traits are learned through the environment.

d)

Inherited traits come from genes and acquired traits are developed through interactions with the environment.

15.

Ducks live near ponds and lakes. The shape of a duck's foot helps it swim and walk on muddy ground. Which factor is most important in determining the shape of a baby duck's foot?

a)

the shape of the parent ducks' feet

b)

the temperature of the pond water

c)

the amount of mud in the bottom of the pond

d)

the amount of rain that fell before the duck was born

16.

Sometimes seeds from plants that produce red raspberries will grow into plants that produce yellow raspberries. When two yellow raspberry plants reproduce with each other, the resulting seeds grow into plants that produce yellow raspberries. Which of the following best describes how raspberries get their color?

a)

Raspberry color is an inherited trait that varies among raspberry plants.

b)

Raspberry color is controlled by the amount of sunlight that raspberry plants receive.

c)

Raspberry color is controlled by the amount of sugar that raspberry plants produce.

d)

Raspberry color is an inherited trait that changes when raspberry plants have a disease.

17.

A group of students observe some sea stars (also known as starfish) while on a field trip. Most of the sea stars have five arms, but two of the sea stars each have an arm that is much shorter than their other arms. A park ranger tells the students that the shorter arms were once missing because they were probably eaten by a fish or a crab, but the arms have started to grow back. Which of the following best describes how sea stars are able to regrow their arms?

a)

Sea stars learn how to regrow their arms.

b)

Sea stars inherit the ability to regrow their arms.

c)

Sea stars eat food that causes their arms to regrow.

d)

Sea stars move to warmer water that causes their arms to regrow.

18.

A moth has markings on its wings that look like owl eyes. When the moth leaves its cocoon, it will often land on a tree and display these markings. Which statement best explains the moth's behavior?

a)

It is a learned behavior to capture prey.

b)

It is a learned behavior to scare away predators.

c)

It is an inherited behavior to capture prey.

d)

it is an inherited behavior to scare away predators.

19.

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...

a)

instinct

b)

hibernation

c)

camouflage

d)

learned behavior

20.

Two students listed some traits of their favorite football player: youngest of 4 children, brown hair, brown eyes, taller than the other teammates, good at throwing & catching a football.

Which question would help the students determine which trait on the list is an acquired physical trait of the football player?

a)

How tall is the football player?

b)

Does the football player have any siblings?

c)

Why does the football player have brown eyes and hair?

d)

Has the football player always been good at catching a football?

21.

A moth has markings on its wings that look like owl eyes. When the moth leaves its cocoon, it will often land on a tree and display these markings. Which statement best explains the moth's behavior?

a)

It is a learned behavior to capture prey.

b)

It is a learned behavior to scare away predators.

c)

It is an inherited behavior to capture prey.

d)

it is an inherited behavior to scare away predators.

22.

Discovered through interactions with the environment

a)

inherited

b)

instinct

c)

learned

d)

physical

23.

Looks at the pictures. Which of the pictures does NOT show an acquired trait?

a)

W

b)

X

c)

Y

d)

Z

24.

1.      Which of the following is an inherited behavior?

 

a)

knowledge of how to play the piano

b)

infant babies breathing as soon as they are born

c)

kindergarten students sharing different toys

d)

birds that nest near highways not responding to traffic noise

25.

Jan plants several shrubs in her garden that she clips into different shapes. Which of the following is an inherited trait of the shrub?

 

a)

The shrub is growing near a large tree.

b)

The shrub is located in Jan's garden.

c)

The shrub is shaped like a cow.

d)

The leaves of the shrub are green.

26.

Which of the following characteristics would a dog have to learn because it could not be inherited from the dog's parents?

a)

color of its fur

b)

ability to fetch a ball

c)

color of its eyes

d)

length of its tail

27.

Which characteristic of sheep is an inherited trait?

a)

their brown wool

b)

their muddy feet

c)

their names

d)

their location in the pasture

28.

Which of the following is an inherited trait of the rose?

a)

the presence of thorns on the rose's stem

b)

the shape of the rose's petals

c)

the color of the rose's petals

d)

all of these

29.

An 11-year-old girl with green eyes and red hair plays the piano. Which of the following characteristics is an example of a learned behavior?

a)

Playing the piano

b)

Having green eyes

c)

Having red hair

d)

Being 11 years old

30.

Which of the following is an instinctive behavior that an animal could inherit from its parents?

a)

A raccoon taking lids off of trash cans to find food.

b)

A dog barking loudly when the doorbell rings.

c)

A seal balancing a ball on the end of its nose.

d)

A bee flying from flower to flower to get nectar.

31.

All of the following can be inherited by the offspring of an apple tree EXCEPT--

a)

shape of leaves.

b)

broken branches.

c)

type of fruit.

d)

flower color.

32.

Charlie’s nose looks just like his grandfather’s nose. This is an example of

a)

nurture.

b)

heredity.

c)

environment.

d)

learned behavior.

33.

The language you speak, how you wear your hair and what music you like to listen to are all examples of

a)

DNA

b)

heredity

c)

acquired traits

d)

inherited traits

34.

“Nature vs. nurture” is a debate about

a)

whether a trait is learned or inherited.

b)

the traits of plants vs. the traits of animals.

c)

whether animals can teach humans new traits.

d)

whether a trait was acquired outdoors or indoors.

35.

1. Have you ever seen someone who looks just like one of their parents? Children can look like their parents because of something called heredity. Heredity is the passing down of genes from generation to generation. Children got about half of their DNA from each of their biological parents. Together, genes tell the body how to function and what to look like. The traits that come from parents are called inherited traits. Your inherited traits are with you from birth.

Where do inherited traits come from?

a)

what a person learns in school

b)

a person’s biological parents

c)

a person's friends

d)

a person’s environment