Download Discuss what a gene is and the role genes play in the transfer of traits.

Sample Assessment Items
This is not meant to be printed off and given as a test…this document is to give you ideas
of how this standard might be assessed. Please use these as an example when you are
developing your own formative assessments. Remember formative assessment is to be
given throughout the teaching of a standard to help you guide your instruction based on
students needs. A good formative assessment should have a mix of multiple choice as
well as open ended.
S5L2 Students will recognize that offspring can resemble parents in inherited traits and
learned behaviors.
b. Discuss what a gene is and the role genes play in the transfer of traits.
Teacher note: Be sensitive to this topic since biological parents may be unavailable.
Multiple Choice:
What are genes?
a. something you wear
b. chemical blueprints for your body
c. traits you inherit from your parents
d. behaviors you learn from your parents
Answer: b
Where do an organism’s genes come from?
a. only from its mother
b. only from its father
c. half from its mother and half from its father
d. mostly from its mother but partly from its father
Answer: c
Which statement is TRUE?
a. Behaviors are never inherited.
b. Behaviors are always inherited.
c. Inherited traits are controlled by genes.
d. Inherited traits are not passed on to offspring.
Answer: c
Which characteristic would NOT be passed on by a gene?
a. white fur
b. broken wing
c. brown scales
d. webbed feet
Answer: b
Which statement is TRUE?
a. All living things have genes.
b. Animals have genes, but plants do not.
c. Plants have genes, but animals do not.
d. Plants and animals have genes, but microorganisms do not.
Answer: a
Which of these tell why a giraffe has a long neck?
a. It eats leaves.
b. Its parents had long necks.
c. It needs to reach tall branches.
d. It has learned how to reach tall branches.
Answer: b
Which of the following is NOT an inherited trait of humans?
a. your height
b. your eye color
c. your hair color
d. your style of dress
Answer: d
Genes cause all of the children in a family _____________.
a. to have curly hair
b. to be as tall as their father
c. to have the same color eyes
d. to have some of the same traits
Answer: d
Which statement below about human genes is NOT true?
a. They control the physical traits.
b. They are inherited from parents.
c. They control learned behaviors.
d. They exist on DNA inside each cell.
Answer: c
Where are genes located in humans?
a. only in the blood
b. on DNA inside cells
c. only inside the brain
d. on DNA outside cells
Answer: b
Open ended:
Why do offspring resemble their parents?
You inherited your mother’s hair color, but your brother did not. Explain how this could
happen.
What role do genes play in the transfer of traits?
How are traits passed from parent to offspring?