Rocket draws two big circles on paper. One says Parents. One says Environment.
"Every trait goes in just one circle," he says.
Raven taps the space where the circles overlap. "What do you notice right here?"
Nova hovers over the middle. "Some traits come from both," she says. "Think about plant height."
Some traits come mostly from the parents.
A bean seed always grows into a bean plant. The kind of plant is inherited.
Some traits come from the environment, like a stem that bends toward a window.
Many traits come from both.
| Trait | Mostly from... | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Being a bean plant | parents | Bean seeds come from bean plants. |
| Seed color | parents | Mendel saw pea traits like color pass to offspring. |
| A stem leaning to the window | environment | It grew toward the light it got. |
| Plant height | both | A tall kind of plant can stay short without enough water. |
| Statement | True or false? |
|---|---|
| The kind of plant a seed becomes is inherited. | ? |
| A stem bending toward a window is caused by the environment. | ? |
| Plant height can depend on both parents and environment. | ? |
| The environment can turn a bean plant into a corn plant. | ? |
Wonderful sorting! Tomorrow we turn bean measurements into a line plot.