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Traits and Inheritance in Organisms

Total questions: 26

Worksheet time: 14mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What is a trait?

a)

A type of food an animal eats

b)

A feature or characteristic of a living thing

c)

A place where animals live

d)

A kind of weather

2.

Which of the following is an inherited trait?

a)

Eye color

b)

Favorite food

c)

Riding a bicycle

d)

Speaking a language

3.

What do we call the young of a plant or animal?

a)

Parent

b)

Offspring

c)

Predator

d)

Prey

4.

Which of these is a trait that can be influenced by the environment?

a)

The color of a flower’s petals

b)

The amount a plant grows

c)

The number of legs an insect has

d)

The shape of a bird’s beak

5.

What is the process called when an animal changes color to blend in with its environment?

a)

Migration

b)

Camouflage

c)

Hibernation

d)

Photosynthesis

6.

Which stage comes first in the life cycle of a butterfly?

a)

Adult

b)

Egg

c)

Pupa

d)

Larva

7.

What do we call the process of passing traits from parents to offspring?

a)

Adaptation

b)

Heredity

c)

Migration

d)

Instinct

8.

Which of these is an example of a variation in a group of the same species?

a)

All cats have the same color fur

b)

Some cats have long tails, others have short tails

c)

All cats eat the same food

d)

All cats sleep at night

9.

Which of the following is a learned behavior, not an inherited trait?

a)

A dog barking

b)

A bird building a nest

c)

A child learning to ride a bike

d)

A fish swimming

10.

Which of these is true about all life cycles of living things?

a)

They all start as adults

b)

They all include birth, growth, reproduction, and death

c)

They all live in water

d)

They all fly

11.

If a plant grows taller when it gets more sunlight, what is this an example of?

a)

Inherited trait

b)

Environmental influence

c)

Instinct

d)

Food chain

12.

A rabbit has white fur in the winter and brown fur in the summer. What does this show?

a)

The rabbit’s fur color is only inherited

b)

The rabbit’s fur color can be influenced by the environment

c)

The rabbit’s fur color never changes

d)

The rabbit’s fur color is a learned behavior

13.

Why might some birds have longer beaks than others of the same species?

a)

They eat different kinds of food

b)

They live in the same place

c)

They all have the same parents

d)

They all fly the same way

14.

A sunflower always turns toward the sun. Is this an inherited trait or influenced by the environment?

a)

Inherited trait

b)

Influenced by the environment

c)

Both inherited and influenced

d)

Neither

15.

Which of these best explains why some puppies in the same litter look different from each other?

a)

They have different parents

b)

There is variation in inherited traits

c)

They eat different foods

d)

They live in different places

16.

How can having a longer neck help a giraffe survive in its environment?

a)

It helps the giraffe run faster

b)

It helps the giraffe reach leaves high in trees

c)

It helps the giraffe swim

d)

It helps the giraffe sleep

17.

A frog lays eggs in water. The eggs hatch into tadpoles, which grow legs and become adult frogs. Which model best shows this life cycle?

a)

Egg → Tadpole → Adult Frog

b)

Egg → Adult Frog → Tadpole

c)

Tadpole → Egg → Adult Frog

d)

Adult Frog → Egg → Tadpole

18.

A group of beetles lives in a forest. Some are green, and some are brown. Birds eat more green beetles than brown ones. Over time, there are more brown beetles. Why?

a)

Brown beetles are better at hiding, so they survive and reproduce more

b)

Green beetles are faster

c)

Brown beetles eat more food

d)

Green beetles lay more eggs

19.

A scientist observes that some plants in a garden have larger leaves than others, even though they are the same kind of plant. What could be a reason for this difference?

a)

The plants with larger leaves inherited the trait from their parents, or they got more sunlight and water

b)

All plants always have the same size leaves

c)

The plants with smaller leaves are older

d)

The plants with larger leaves are a different species

20.

A student notices that some frogs in a pond are green and some are brown. The brown frogs are harder to see on muddy banks, while green frogs are easier to see. How might this difference help the brown frogs survive and have more offspring?

a)

Brown frogs are less likely to be seen and eaten by predators, so they survive and have more babies

b)

Green frogs can jump higher

c)

Brown frogs eat more food

d)

Green frogs live longer

21.

Is an ant, living or nonliving?

a)

living

b)

non living

c)

I am not sure.

22.
Why Do aniamals Adapt?
a)
To make their life better
b)
To Survive in their envorment.
c)
To make people happy
d)
ALL of the above
23.

This is a live oak tree, which can grow 40 to 80 feet tall.

This is a coconut palm tree, which can grow 60 to 80 feet tall.

Find one trait these two trees pass on to their offspring.

a)

tree height

b)

tree fungus

c)

tree decay

24.

Which of the following is the best definition for heredity?

a)

Heredity is the passing of particles from high concentration to low concentration.

b)

Heredity explains how DNA copies itself.

c)

Heredity is the passing of traits from parent to offspring.

d)

Heredity is the forming of clones.

25.

Inherited traits are controlled by

a)

nucleus

b)

chromosomes

c)

genes

d)

cells

26.
Is a plant living, nonliving, or once alive? 
a)
All of the above
b)
Living
c)
Nonliving
d)
Once alive