Heredity

Heredity

Heredity is the passing of genetic traits from parent to offspring. This is done through dominant and recessive genes.

Dominant genes are the strongest and are usually labeled with a capital letter - "B" for brown, for instance.

Recessive genes are typically hidden by dominant genes. Label the recessive gene for blue eyes "b" - lowercase.

If you get two dominant genes for eye color - BB - you're a brown-eyed beauty. Inherit a dominant and a recessive gene - Bb - you get the dominant color: brown. When both parents contribute a recessive gene, in this case blue-blue or bb, you've got blue eyes. These examples are all inherited traits.

  

Inherited traits are characteristics that are determined by an organism’s genetics and passed from parent to offspring. This can include eye color, hair color, skin type, height, etc.

Acquired traits, or learned behaviors, are behaviors that are acquired by an organism’s interactions with its environment and /or parents. This can include riding a bike, swimming, drawing, climbing, etc.

Inherited behaviors are behaviors that are instinctive. This includes breathing, smiling, blinking, etc.

Check out this fun game to test your knowledge:

Adaptations, Inherited Traits, Learned Behaviors and Food Chains Jeopardy

Classifying Quadrilaterals and Triangles

Classifying Quadrilaterals and Triangles

We have been studying different geometric figures. Our main focus has been on classifying quadrilaterals and triangles.

A quadrilateral is a four-sided polygon with four angles. There are many kinds of quadrilaterals. The five most common types are the parallelogram, the rectangle, the square, the trapezoid, and the rhombus.

Here is how they relate to each other:

We have been looking at triangles based on their angles.

The right triangle has one 90 degree angle and two acute (< 90 degree) angles.

Obtuse triangles have one angle that is greater than 90 degrees. Obtuse triangles have only one obtuse angle.

Acute triangles have NO angles greater than or equal to 90 degrees -- all their angles are less than 90 degrees. Acute triangles have three acute angles.

Ask your kiddo if they can find these different quadrilaterals and triangles in the world around them.

Lines, Rays, and Angles

Lines, Rays, and Angles

Our geometry unit is in full swing! Here are some of the vocabulary terms that we use.

A point is an exact position on a plane surface.

A line is a collection of points along a straight path with no end points. 

A line segment is a part of a line that contains every point on the line between its end points. 

A ray is a line with a single end point that goes on and on in one direction.

Parallel Lines are two lines that remain the same distance apart at all times and never intersect.

Perpendicular Lines are two lines that intersect and from right angles. 

Intersecting Lines meet or cross each other.

A figure is symmetric (or has symmetry) if it can be folded on a line to form two equal (congruent) halves that fit on top of each other.

Line of symmetry is the fold line of a symmetrical figure. A figure can have one, many, or no lines of symmetry.

An  angle is the intersection of two rays with a common vertex or endpoint. An angle measures the amount of turn of the rays.

There are four types of angles that we have learned about.

An acute angle is an angle whose measure is less than 90°.

 

A right angle is an angle whose measure is 90°.

 

An obtuse angle is an angle whose measure is more than 90°, but less than 180°.

  

A straight angle is an angle whose measure is 180°.

 

Remember that an angle is named using three letters, where the middle letter corresponds to the vertex of the angle.  The angle below is ∠ABC or ∠CBA.   If it is perfectly clear which angle is being named, an angle may be referred to by its vertex letter alone, such as ∠B.

Here are a couple of fun website that allows you to play around with angles:

Angles

Name that Angle

Check out our angle song:

Angle Song

Watch this video to get a better understanding of the differences between these geometry terms.

Geometry Terms

Here are some ways to practice the geometry terms:

Geometry Term Practice

Lines, line segments, and rays practice

Ask your kiddo to show you the dance moves we came up with for these terms.