Using a coin toss, you will determine the facial traits of a potential child.  The expression of your traits is driven by the combination of alleles that you inherited from your parents.  The inheritance of these alleles from your parents is random.  For example, your Mom’s sex chromosomes are XX. Your Dad’s are XY. Upon fertilization, Mom contributed one of these X chromosomes randomly (the only choice she had!)  Dad contributed either X or Y randomly.  If you are a female you inherited your Dads X chromosome.  If you are a male then you inherited your Dads Y chromosome.  Because parents only have two alleles to contribute and they will be sorted randomly, we can observe how alleles are passed on randomly (50/50 chance) and how the combination of alleles determines physical traits using a simple coin toss.

1. Make sure that you have read the assigned text reading and the module notes before beginning this activity.

2. Follow the instructions on the Traits WorksheetPreview the document [DOC, File Size 43 KB]

3. You will need two coins to complete this activity.

4.Using the Traits Worksheet, complete the table and submit your work in the appropriate dropbox.