Genetics Problems and Activities for Biology Interactive Notebooks, Warm Ups, and Bell Ringers

Genetics is the name, and warm ups, bell ringers and interactive notebook pages is the game.  

This idea is on fire in my standard biology classes!  I admit that my students were dubious (at best) at first, but now all are on board, and I am loving the daily routine.  I would call what I am doing a "warm up notebook."  The short review that each page provides for my students each day is proving to be invaluable.  But there are so many other uses for these activity pages.  They make fantastic homework assignments or short daily quizzes.  They are perfect for your science interactive notebooks.  And my students are starting to realize that their notebook is going to be awesome in December when it is time to study for my semester exam.

In earlier blog posts, I wrote about how to set up the notebooks, and pretty much exhausted the topic of the merits of these warm up /bell ringer activities.  You can check out the earlier blog posts by clicking these links:

• Biology Warm Ups and Bell Ringers: Great Classroom Management Tool
• Biology Interactive Notebooks
• Ecology Warm Ups and Bell Ringers

The latest topic to be added to my bell ringer arsenal is Genetics.   Here's a preview of what is included:

 

I have divided the pages into three different categories:

There are 34 pages for the student.  Each printed page has two identical warm ups.  The only thing you have to do is print the pages and cut them in half.  Complete answer keys are also included.

A couple of examples of student work....

I hope that I have given you some new ideas for your classroom, and I hope you are having a wonderful school year.  Here are the links to the warm ups I have posted to date:

Introduction to Science

Cell Structure, Function and Physiology

Ecology

Genetics

Genetics Complete Unit Plan Bundle

Everything you need (and more!) to teach this unit!

It is no surprise to anyone who knows me that Gregor Mendel is my favorite scientist and I love teaching genetics to my biology students.  Who wouldn't? Students love learning about genetics, which makes teaching genetics wonderful.   

Interested Students + Lots of Awesome Questions = FUN TEACHING!

This was one of the first unit plan bundles that I posted in my TeachersPayTeachers.com store. It contains everything you need to teach this unit to a biology class... A PowerPoint, notes for teacher and student, 3 labs, 7 practice problem worksheets, 5 quizzes, a review game, a crossword, and a unit test. I have learned a lot since those early days, and the facelift on this bundle has just been completed. Graphics have been improved, a few typos have been corrected, and more complete answer keys have been added. This bundle has received such great feedback, and I am most appreciative to all who have purchased it. Be sure to go back to TpT and download the new version. It is a free download to those who have previously purchased it. 

Feedback:  "This has great resources and it is amazingly interactive."

Feedback:  "It's always great to get new ideas and problems for students to do."

Feedback:  "This lesson plan bundle deserves an A+........so helpful when teaching students about gentics!!"

Feedback:  "This material was excellent. It saved me time and covered everything I needed to cover for my mid term exam."

Feedback:  "Very organized and sequential. A great resource."

"I cannot tell you enough that your Complete Units are Wonderful!! I am in my first full year of teaching and it has given me ample opportunity to focus on my students abilities rather than being stressed. Thank you so much!"

Click here to view my Genetics Complete Unit Plan Bundle.

Population Genetics: The Hardy Weinberg Equation

This fun lab simulation should guarantee that your students understand the Hardy Weinberg Principle!  

I talk to a lot of biology teachers. Everyday. Some are in my school, some are at other schools in my district, others I know "virtually" from various message boards that I read and post to.  Through these communications, I have come to realize that many biology teachers do not include the Hardy-Weinberg Principle in their lesson planning.

I know that all biology teachers have their own "order of events" but for me a unit on genetics, followed by my unit on evolution is perfect.  In fact, I would be hard pressed to do it any other way.  The Hardy-Weinberg Principle is the link between genetics and evolution.  It is the proof that we offer to our students that populations are constantly changing and evolving.  It allows us to mathematically show that the frequency of a particular allele in a population can change over time.

Simply put:  Evolution is any change in the frequency of alleles in a population.  Evolution is the result of changes in the gene pool.  Two men, G. H. Hardy and W. Weinberg, proposed a mathematical model for detecting changes in the gene pool.

The Hardy-Weinberg Principle states:  “In the absence of mutation, migration, and natural selection, and in a population that is sufficiently large, the frequencies of alleles will remain the same.”  

The Hardy-Weinberg Principle is represented in the equation:

No population is free of these agents of change.  The Hardy-Weinberg equation is used to detect changes in the population from one generation to the next.  Since no population in nature is free of mutations, migrations, and natural selection, and since mating is rarely completely random in nature, of what value is the Hardy Weinberg Principle?  It allows us to detect changes in the gene pool, and therefore, determine that a population is in a state of change....Evolution!

My experience with my own students is that some of them have a little trouble grasping this concept. After introducing the topic and working through quite a few practice problems, I do a simulation lab.

Purpose of the Lab:  
1.  To simulate how changes in the gene pool might occur by using the class as a breeding population of individuals. 
2.  To observe how the Hardy-Weinberg equation is used to detect changes in allele frequencies in a population.

Materials:   PTC test papers,  Calculator,  Allele cards,  Coins, Pencil and paper

Safety Precautions:   None

The student handouts for this lab are numerous.....12 pages!  I usually run off a class set and have students record all of their information on notebook paper. I use the class set throughout the day, and then I file them away for use the next year.

I have also included an 11-page teacher guide.  The teacher guide has tips and tricks for making the lab successful as well as answers to questions and solutions to problems.  Sample data is included to give you an idea of what to expect in the simulation.

Students begin the lab by determining the frequency of an allele in the class population.  I like to use PTC paper to determine if students are tasters or nontasters. But if PTC paper is not available, you can choose another trait such as the presence or absence of dimples, or the ability to roll the tongue.  From the number of recessive individuals in your class, the value of q can be determined.  From that point, the students will determine what percentage of the class is homozygous dominant and heterozygous for the given trait.

Next, students will run three simulations:  (1) Testing the Hardy-Weinberg Principle, (2) Testing the Hardy-Weinberg for Selection Pressure, and (3) The Heterozygote Advantage.

Students will begin the simulation as heterozygous individuals and will use allele cards to generate offspring. Students proceed through several generations of "mating" and the data is used to test the different conditions of the Hardy-Weinberg Principle.

During each simulation, students will determine the frequency of the dominant and recessive allele and note how the frequency of p and q change in various scenarios. The lab concludes with follow up questions and 8 additional practice problems involving the Hardy-Weinberg equation.  

The end result?  My students have mastered the concept and are able to work problems involving the Hardy-Weinberg equation.

Good luck, and have fun teaching!

Lab:   Population Genetics,  The Hardy-Weinberg Principle, and Evolution

Genetics in the Laboratory

Do you want to do a great genetics lab with your students, but don't have time for fruit flies?

Having enough "time" is an issue for me every single year!  I finally had to come to the realization that my fruit fly genetics lab would have to go.  It is such a great lab, but just too time consuming.

Now we grow corn!  It only takes a few minutes to plant and you are practically done!  I do have my students water their corn every few days, and in about 2 weeks we are ready to do the lab.

In corn, green stem (due to chlorophyll production) is dominant over albino stem.  I order seeds that are the F-2 offspring of heterozygous parents.  The expected ratio when the seeds grow is, of course, 3/4 green stem and 1/4 albino stem.  Students then compare the expected ratios to the actual number of each type of offspring observed.

For an added component to the lab, have the students consider the effect of the environment on the expression of the gene. When the seeds are first planted, I have half the class place their trays on a table in front of a window.  The other half of the class place their trays in a cabinet in complete darkness. When the seeds finally sprout and grow, we compare the number of albinos grown in the dark to the number of albinos grown in the light.

For those plants grown in the light, the results are fairly close to the expected 3:1 ratio.  But, the seeds grown in the dark are a different story.  100% of the seeds grown in the dark turn out to be albino.

After this first observation, all trays are left in the light for 48 hours, and a second observation is made two days later.  Miraculously : )  about 3/4's of the albinos from the dark trays have now turned green.

Students quickly determine that the environment plays a very important role in gene expression.

If you choose, you can order seeds showing two traits as seen in the photo to the left.  When these seeds were grown, students could determine the expected and actual numbers of green and albino stems as well as the number of tall and dwarf plants.

You can view this lab in my TpT store by clicking this link:

Lab: The Effect of the Environment on Gene Expression

Or, you might want to try this as a "Virtual Lab" for distance learning and 1:1 classrooms.  You can check out the "Virtual Lab Version" by clicking this link.

Free Monohybrid Genetics Practice Problem Worksheet

Gregor Mendel

Who Doesn't LOVE Genetics?

In my many years of teaching, it has been a very rare occasion to have a student in my class who did not enjoy my genetics unit.  It is such a fun and interesting topic to teach!  My students always love to discover if they have a widow's peak, a hitch hikers thumb, or a crooked little finger.  And, of course, what kid hasn't been rolling (or trying to roll!) his tongue for most of his life?


Thanks to the work of Gregor Mendel, the very scientific Austrian monk, the study of genetics began in his abbey garden in the mid-1800's.  By spending many years in the patient breeding of pea plants, Mendel provided the world with the basic laws of genetics that we still use today.

I would bet that every biology teacher today begins with the story of Mendel. From Mendel's work we can teach such vocabulary words as trait, hybrid, gene, alleles, dominant, recessive, segregation, homozygous, heterozygous, genotype and phenotype.  As soon as these terms are mastered, we jump into Punnett squares and probability.

For some teachers, this is where our trouble begins.  No, it is not that the material is hard or that students fail to master it.  The problem lies within the biology texts that are commonly used today.  It seems that they have precious few practice problems available to our students.  Having spent many, many years in the biology classroom, I have collected quite a few great genetics problems that I use for practice material.

One of my favorite worksheets is called Monohybrid Mice!  (FREEBIE!!)  Before more complicated problems can be attempted, the student must be able to complete a very simple one-factor problem... the monohybrid cross.  This simple worksheet has just four problems.  The student completes the Punnett square, fills in a chart of genotypes, phenotypes and probabilities, and finishes the problem by answering a series of questions.   I called this Monohybrid Mice! because all of the problems deal with the coat color of mice.

You can download this worksheet for free from my store on TeachersPayTeachers.com. Once your students have completed this exercise, they will, no doubt, be ready to master more complicated problems.

The printable lesson is perfect for traditional classroom settings, and the paperless, digital Google Apps version is perfect for distance learning and 1:1 classrooms. 

Enjoy the freebie, and good luck with your teaching!

Related products include:

Genetics Complete Unit Plan Bundle of Products
Genetics PowerPoint and Notes
Dihybrid Problems
Incomplete Dominance
Codominance and Multiple Alleles
Sex Linkage

The Importance of Environmental Influences on Gene Expression

All students know that their hair color and their eye color is a result of the alleles that they have inherited from their parents. But do your students know that the environment plays a role in the expression of these alleles?

The phenotype of an individual often depends on the influences from the environment. A snowshoe rabbit has white fur in the winter months and brownish fur in the summer months. Why? If the rabbit is white in the winter, it will be camouflaged  and will have a greater chance of survival.  The same is true of a brown rabbit in the summer months.  A particular allele codes for coat color in these rabbits.  During the winter, the snowshoe rabbit will have white fur because these pigment producing genes do not function in cold weather.  When the weather warms in the spring and summer, the genes function to produce pigments and the coat becomes brown.

The million dollar question is this:  Is heredity or environment more important in determining the kinds of traits that appear in the offspring?

I recently had my students explore this very question in a laboratory activity. Students were given 10 corn seeds to plant.  Half of the students were asked to leave their container of planted seeds near a window in our lab.  The other half of the class was asked to place their container of corn seeds in complete darkness.   The seeds were watered as needed and left to grow.

The trait the students were asked to observe was the color of the stem and leaves.  Did the seeds grow into plants with green stems or into plants that were albino?  Stems are green due to the production of chlorophyll. Chlorophyll production is controlled by a dominant allele.  The absence of a dominant allele results in a plant that is albino.

The students were given seeds that were the offspring of heterozygous parents.  Therefore, it is expected that 3/4ths of the seeds will grow into corn plants that are green, and 1/4th of the seeds will grow into plants that are white or albino.

After allowing the seeds to grow into seedlings, students return to the lab to count their offspring.

In the above photos, both trays of corn were grown in the light.  As you can see, some of the plants have green stems, while other plants have albino stems.  Class data was tabulated and we were very close to the expected 3:1 ratio of green to albino stems.

Take a look at the plants in the photo to the right.  The plants on the right side of the photo were grown in complete darkness.  All of these plants are termed albino.  The expected 3:1 ratio was not supported.  100% of the plants grew into albino plants.  What is the difference between the albino plants grown in the light and the albinos grown in the dark?   The albino plants that were grown in the light are albino due to their genetics.  These plants have two recessive alleles for chlorophyll production.  Without the dominant allele, chlorophyll production is not possible.  The albino plants that were grown in complete darkness are albino because of their environment.  Some of these plants may have the dominant allele, but in the absence of sunlight, the dominant allele is not expressed.  

To make this argument just a bit stronger, all students were asked to let their seedlings continue to grow for another 24 hours, and all trays of seedlings were left in the light.  Plants that were initially grown in the dark, were left in the light for 24 hours.  At the second observation, 3/4ths of these albinos had developed chlorophyll and were green.

So back to the original question...... Is heredity or the environment more important in gene expression?  Every student in my class now knows that having the dominant allele is not always enough for the trait to be expressed. Sometimes the dominant allele and the proper environmental condition work together in the expression of the trait.

The printable lesson is perfect for traditional classroom settings, and the paperless, digital Google Apps version is perfect for distance learning and 1:1 classrooms. You might want to try this as a "Virtual Lab" for distance learning and 1:1 classrooms.  You can check out the "Virtual Lab Version" by clicking this link.

Give this lab a try.  Your students will love it!

Happy Teaching!

Lab: The Effect of the Environment on Gene Expression

Genetics Practice Problem Worksheets - Set of 7 Worksheets

Genetics PowerPoint with Notes for Teacher and Student

Genetics Complete Unit Bundle of 21 Products

Myths and Misconceptions About Genetics

If you teach genetics, I KNOW you have encountered these misconceptions before!

It is the time of the year that I teach genetics to my students.  It's a great time of the year.... I love teaching genetics and the students love learning about genetics......for the most part!  But have you noticed that even the students that seem to really "get it" will often ask a question that just stops you in your tracks?  You think to yourself, "How in the world did they get so mixed up on the concepts I have been teaching?"

A few weeks ago I noticed a post that Carolina Biological had posted on their facebook page.  It really caught my eye when I read "Five Common Misconceptions in Genetics."  A link was provided with the post, so I quickly clicked on it and began to read.  I am giving complete credit to this article to Crystal Jeter,  Product Developer for Carolina Biological.  Before reading further, click on the link above and read what she had to say.  The article is short and to the point and really packs a punch!  I deal with these five misconceptions EVERY SINGLE YEAR!  (I am in no way affiliated with Carolina Biological, but I am a huge fan of this company!)

I am not going to repeat any of her article here, but if you read it, I am sure you are nodding your head in agreement.  It is so nice to have my frustrations validated!  I am overjoyed to know that these are misconceptions that are very common and I am not the only one who deals with this each year.  Seeing the five misconceptions so neatly outlined in her article will make it much easier to address them in my class.  

I enjoyed her article very much, and I will keep an eye open to her future writings.

Happy Teaching!

Genetics Complete Unit Plan of 21 Products

Genetics PowerPoint With Notes for Teacher and Student

Genetics Practice Problem Worksheets