Ninth graders follow the rules Gregor Mendel found in his pea plants to predict how traits pass from one generation to the next, using alleles, genotypes, and Punnett squares.
Students will be able to…
Children resemble their parents, but never exactly. What rules decide which traits get passed on, and how can we predict them before an organism is even born?
Project this and answer each question about alleles, genotypes, and Punnett squares — read the explanation after each one.
Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.
Siblings share parents but look different. How do traits get passed down and shuffled?
Students answer questions about inheritance terms.
Students cross two heterozygous parents.
Students predict outcomes for a new trait.
Students reflect on what a square can and cannot tell you.
Aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (Grade 9 / High School Science).
Ask questions to clarify relationships about the role of DNA and chromosomes in coding the instructions for characteristic traits.
Make and defend a claim that inheritable genetic variations may result from new genetic combinations through meiosis.
Apply concepts of statistics and probability to explain the variation and distribution of expressed traits in a population.
Describe events as subsets of a sample space using characteristics of the outcomes.
Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.
Have students choose a trait and two parent genotypes, build the Punnett square, and state the expected genotype and phenotype ratios. A printable Punnett-square worksheet is in the Science library.
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