Download Penny Lab

Penny Lab: Part 1
Introduction:
Why do people look so different from each other? Even close relatives often look very
different from each other. This happens because a very large variety of traits exist in the
human population and new variations are created as humans reproduce. Remember during
meiosis there can be reshuffling and even crossing over of genes. In this activity, we will
learn why brothers and sisters have different genotypes (genetic messages on their DNA)
and phenotypes (physical appearances), even when they share the same parents.
So… CONGRATUALTIONS! You are a parent! You and your lab partner will use the traits we
discussed in class, as well as several others, to create a new baby.
Materials:


A partner
A penny
Procedure:
1. With your partner, decide which of you will contribute “mom” genes and which will contribute “dad”
genes.
2. Find out the sex of your child.
 Remember that Mom’s genotype is XX and dad’s is XY, so only Dad flips the coin.
 Heads = Y, which means the child will be a boy.
 Tails = X, which means the child will be a girl.
 Write the sex alleles in the first row on your data table.
3. Give your bouncing baby a name!
4. In the “My Genotype” column of your data table, write down your personal genotypes for the selected
traits. For this lab, if you have the dominant trait, assume that you are heterozygous for that trait. On
these selected traits:
 Heads = the FIRST allele of your genotype
 Tails = the SECOND allele of your genotype
 If you are recessive for a trait, you will ALWAYS give the recessive allele.
5. Discover the facial features your child will have by flipping your coin. Each partner will flip the coin
one time for each trait. For traits not discussed in class:
 Heads = DOMINANT allele.
 Tails = RECESSIVE allele.
5. Record your individual allele contributions (results from the coin flips) on your data sheet, in the
columns labeled Allele from Mom and Allele from Dad. Record the total genetic message (both
alleles together) in the genotype column, and record the appearance in the phenotype column.
6. Complete the analysis section of the lab. When you finish, draw your baby’s lovely face!
Traits
1. Face Shape
Round (RR , Rr)
Square (rr)
2. Chin Shape
Prominent (PP, Pp)
Weak (pp)
3. Cleft Chin
Present (GG, Gg)
Absent (gg)
4. Widow’s Peak: The hair comes to a point…like Eddie Munster
Present (WW, Ww)
5. Eyebrow Thickness:
6. Eyebrow Placement:
7. Eye Shape:
Bushy (YY, Yy)
Not connected (NN, Nn)
Almond (AA, Aa)
Absent (ww)
Fine (yy)
Connected (nn)
Round (aa)
8. Eye Tilt:
Horizontal (HH, Hh)
Upward slant (hh)
9. Eyelashes:
Long (EE, Ee)
Short (ee)
10. Lip Thickness:
Thick (LL, Ll)
Thin (ll)
Present (DD, Dd)
Absent (dd)
Rounded (MM, Mm)
Pointed (mm)
Rounded (QQ, Qq)
Pointed (qq)
Free (JJ, Jj)
Attached (jj)
11. Dimples:
12. Nose Shape:
13. Nostril Shape:
14. Earlobe Attachment:
15. Darwin’s Ear Point:
Present (SS, Ss)
Absent (ss)
Present (KK, Kk)
Absent (kk)
Present (FF, Ff)
Absent (ff)
Able to taste (TT, Tt)
Unable to taste (tt)
Can roll (CC, Cc)
Cannot roll (cc)
Hitchhiker’s Thumb (BB, Bb)
Straight Thumb (bb)
16. Freckles on Cheeks:
17. Freckles on Forehead:
18. PTC Taster:
19. Tongue Rolling:
20. Hitchhiker’s Thumb:
Parent Names:
Baby’s Name:
Penny Lab: Part 1 Data Sheet
Baby’s
My
Allele
Allele
Baby’s
Trait
Genotype
Possible
from
from
Phenotype
(phenotype)
(both alleles
(appearance)
Genotypes
“Mom” “Dad”
together)
Gender
X
1. Face Shape
2. Chin Shape
3. Cleft Chin
4. Widow’s Peak
5. Eyebrow
Thickness
6. Eyebrow
Placement
7. Eye Shape
8. Eye Tilt
9. Eyelashes
10. Lip Thickness
11. Dimples
12. Nose Shape
13. Nostril Shape
14. Earlobe
Attachment
15. Darwin’s Ear
Point
16. Freckles on
Cheeks
17. Freckles on
Forehead
18. PTC Taster
19. Tongue Rolling
20. Hitchhiker’s
Thumb
Analysis:
The traits in this activity were created to illustrate how human heredity works in a simple
model. In real life, the heritance of facial features is much more complex and is
determined by the way several sets of genes work together.
1. How much information does each parent contribute to a child’s genetic make-up?
2. Can a person’s genotype be determined from his or her phenotype? Explain your
answer.
3. There have been cases in history where a king divorced his queen because she produced
only daughters. Explain why this would not increase the king’s chances of having a
son.
4. Two people that look similar may have thousands of traits in common. Is it possible for
them to be genetically identical if they are not identical twins? Explain.
5. Do you think it is possible for someone to be either dominant or recessive for every
trait? Why or why not?
Give a BIOLOGICAL example for each of the following:
6. Genotype:
8. Dominant:
7. Phenotype:
9. Recessive: