Traits

Fox squirrels live in the trees of city parks throughout Texas. Each spring they build nests of twigs and leaves in the tops of the trees. Fox squirrels are often found near park benches, waiting to be fed by visitors. For fox squirrels, which of these is a learned behavior? (5.10B)

• Building a nest each spring

• Taking food from people

• Having a long, bushy tail

• Having sharp claws

A scientist observes sea otters using rocks to break open clamshells. Which of these investigations would best help the scientist determine whether this skill is a learned or an inherited behavior? (5.10B)

• Determining what sizes and kinds of rocks are used most often by sea otters

• Determining whether shellfish are an important food source in the diet of sea otters

• Raising young sea otters away from adult otters that use rocks and observing whether the young otters use rocks

• Observing families of sea otters over time to see whether adults that use rocks have offspring that use rocks

Crayfish live in water and often hide under rocks or plants. They come out to look for food and will eat both plants and animals. Which of these is a trait that a crayfish most likely inherits from its parents? (5.10B)

• The average distance it travels each day

• The number of legs it has

• The amount of food it eats each day

• The type of plants in its habitat

The caterpillars of monarch butterflies eat milkweed leaves. Milkweed leaves contain sap that is toxic to many animals but not to monarch butterfly caterpillars. This sap makes the monarch butterfly caterpillars toxic to predators and protects them from being eaten. Which of these is an inherited trait of monarch butterfly caterpillars? (5.10B)

• The size of the milkweed leaves that the caterpillars eat

• The ability of the caterpillars to eat toxic leaves without being harmed

• The number of milkweed leaves the caterpillars eat each day

• The number of leaves on the milkweed plants the the caterpillars visit each summer

Which of these is a learned behavior of a dog? (5.10B)

• Begging for food

• Drinking water

• Panting on a hot day

• Chewing on a bone

A farmer keeps bees to pollinate crops. The farmer makes several observations about the bees. Which of these observations describes a learned behavior? (5.10B)

• Bees make return trips to sugar water from a bowl placed 40 meters from their hive.

• Bees have dark eyes and black-and-yellow stripes.

• Bees produce honey from the nectar they collect.

• Bees will sting when threatened or disturbed.

A group of students made the observations listed in the table about the size, shape, and appearance of their hands. Which of the students' observations describe inherited traits? (5.10B)

• Observations 2 and 5 only

• Observations 1, 3, and 4 only

• Observations 2, 3, and 5 only

• All the observations

For a science assignment a student was asked to observe some organisms and then make a table to classify the organisms' traits as inherited or learned. The student's table is shown. How many of these observations describe learned behaviors and how many describe inherited traits? (5.10B)

• 1 learned behavior, 7 inherited traits

• 2 learned behaviors, 6 inherited traits

• 3 learned behaviors, 5 inherited traits

• 4 learned behaviors, 4 inherited traits

Some traits of living organisms are inherited, while some behaviors must be learned. Which statement related to inherited traits or learned behaviors is not correct? (5.10B)

• The ability of a figure skater to spin on ice is related to both inherited traits and learned behaviors.

• The ability of lions to use camouflage to hide in grassy fields is an inherited trait only.

• The number and type of legs a cricket has is an inherited trait only.

• The behavior of a dog guiding a blind person on a walk through a neighborhood is an inherited trait only.

A group of students visited a park and collected leaves from many different trees in order to study them. They recorded their observations about the leaves. Which of these observations does NOT describe an inherited trait? (5.10B)

• The leaves vary in shape and size.

• Some leaves have holes made by insects chewing on them.

• Some leaves are smooth on one side and rough on the other.

• The colors of the leaves range from light green to dark green.