Inherited traits come from your parents' genes, passed down like family recipes. Learned traits develop from your experiences and practice, like skills you pick up over time.

Inherited Traits

These are features you're born with because of DNA from mom and dad. Examples include eye color, curly hair, or dimples. You don't choose them — they're set before birth and stay mostly the same your whole life.

Learned Traits

These change based on what you do and learn. Examples include riding a bike, speaking a language, or cooking. Animals learn too, like a dog sitting on command after training.

Dominant vs Recessive

Genes come in pairs, one from each parent. Dominant genes show up strong and cover up the other. Recessive genes are quieter and only appear if both parents pass them.

• Brown eyes are dominant over blue.
• Straight hair might be dominant over curly.

If you get one brown-eye gene and one blue-eye gene, brown wins — you have brown eyes. Both blue? Then blue eyes show.

Coin Flip Inheritance Activity

Model how traits pass down randomly.

What you need: 2 coins (heads = dominant brown eyes, tails = recessive blue eyes).

Steps: Flip both coins once for mom's genes, then once for dad's. Check the results for 10 "kids" total.

• 2 heads = brown eyes
• 1 head + 1 tail = brown eyes
• 2 tails = blue eyes

Keep score on paper. Notice about 75% brown eyes and 25% blue eyes? That's how real inheritance works!