Module 6

Module 6—Mendelian Genetics: The Transmission of Traits to the Next Generation

Big Picture

 

Has anyone ever told you that you look like someone else in your family? Do you have your mother’s eyes or your grandfather’s hairline? Would you be worried if all the men in your family were balding?

 

You may wonder why some people in your family look alike and some do not. Or you may wonder why some have inherited certain traits or genetic conditions, and some have not. As you look around and notice the variety of traits in your family, you may wonder what determines how and why each relative got his or her unique characteristics.

 

This begins the journey towards understanding the principles and steps involved in the inheritance of traits and how they are expressed. Through this journey you will consider various examples of inheritable characteristics and how they are transmitted from generation to generation. You will begin with the simple garden pea, which illustrates basic genetic principles, and move to more complicated examples of inheritance, particularly human inheritance. 

 

In this module you will explore genetics and inheritance. To do this, you will need to explore the following focusing questions:

• What controls the physical appearance of organisms?

• How are traits inherited from generation to generation?

• How can the analysis of ratios and probabilities of the external appearance of traits reveal the internal workings of genetics?

• What tools can scientists use to study and predict inheritance?

• Why do some traits appear more frequently in males than in females?

• How can offspring demonstrate gene combinations never seen in their parents?

• Does inheritance of traits always happen the same way?

In this module it is essential to practise the concepts that you will learn by doing questions and problems. There is an extensive vocabulary in genetics and you will become familiar with many terms and how to use them correctly. In Lesson 1 you will be encouraged to start developing flash cards to record vocabulary. With each lesson, you should decide which terms you need to add to your flash cards.

 

You have been introduced to the focusing questions for this module. Each lesson will restate these focusing questions to guide your study. To help you organize the concepts you learn in Module 6, and to provide you with a study aid for review, you may choose to download the Module 6 Concept Organizer. Fill in this concept organizer with the ideas you master as you work through each lesson, or prepare the organizer when you have completed Module 6. You can use keywords, point form, or any amount of detail that meets your needs. You may choose to work from the file on your computer, print the document and work from the paper copy, or copy the outline onto a large sheet of poster paper. After you have prepared your concept organizer, you may wish to check your work with the concept organizer provided in the Module Summary. The concept organizer provided outlines of some of the key topics that you should include in each lesson of your concept organizer. This is a great tool to review and use for study purposes, but using this organizer is completely your choice.

 

In the Module Assessment for Module 6, you will choose between completing a study of Familial Mediterranean Fever or preparing a presentation on the inheritance of hemophilia in the descendants of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. You will apply the principles that you study in each of the lessons to the completion of the assessment that you choose. For more details about the Module Assessment and the evaluation criteria, visit the Module Summary and Assessment sections.

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