Daily Discovery: Monster Genetics

Monsters may be imaginary, but just like all living things, they have genes that determine what they look like and how they behave. Make your very own monster using Mendelian genetics. Will your monster be tall or short? Furry or scaly? Green or blue? Toss a coin to find out!

Supplies:

• Paper (if you can, print off the last page of the PDF version of this activity)
• Pencil
• Crayons, colored pencils, or markers
• A coin
• 3D making materials (optional)

Definitions to Know

• Trait: A characteristic or feature of a living thing… hair color, eye color, and blood type are all examples of traits.
• Gene: Genes are parts of DNA and carry hereditary  information passed from parents to children.
• Allele: A version of a gene. Each parent gives its offspring one allele.
• Genotype: A living thing’s complete genetic information.
• Phenotype: A living’s things traits.
• Dominant allele: An allele that is always expressed in the phenotype if present in the genotype.
• Recessive allele: An allele that is only expressed in the phenotype if the dominant allele is not present.

Don’t understand these definitions yet? No worries! It will all make more sense once you complete the activity.

Instructions:

1. Just like humans and other animals, FCMoD monsters (which are only imaginary, we promise!) have genes that determine their traits. FCMoD monster babies inherit one allele from each monster parent. The combination of the two alleles decides which traits the baby monster has. In this activity, by flipping a coin, you will determine which alleles your monster inherits from each parent (its genotype). Then, using the rules of dominant versus recessive alleles, you will figure out your monster’s traits (its phenotype).
2. Print off the last page of the PDF version of this activity entitled “Determining Your Monster’s Genetics.” No printer? No problem! You can make a copy of this page using pencil and paper.
3. On the “Determining Your Monster’s Genetics” page, you should a table with lots of different monster traits, from height to teeth shape. Each row lists the allele that is dominant and the allele that is recessive.
4. Flip a coin twice for each trait. If you flip heads on your first flip, write down the dominant allele in the Coin Toss #1 column. If you flip tails on your first flip, write down the recessive allele in the Coin Toss #1 column. Repeat in the Coin Toss #2 column. Leave the Phenotype column blank for now.
5. Once you have completed two coin tosses for every trait, it’s time to figure out your monster’s phenotype! If a trait is recessive, it is only expressed if it has another recessive allele as its buddy. Find any traits where you wrote down the recessive allele in both the Coin Toss #1 AND Coin Toss #2 columns. (In other words, you got tails twice in a row when you did your coin toss.) Write down the recessive allele in the Phenotype column. Write down the dominant allele in the Phenotype category for all other cases.
6. Time to make your monster! Draw your monster using the traits listed in your Phenotype column. Bonus points: once you are done drawing your monster, make it in 3D using whatever you have at home!

Questions to Ponder
• Did you flip more heads than tails, more tails than heads, or did you flip about an even amount of heads and tails?
• How much of your monster’s phenotype is made up of recessive alleles versus dominant alleles? Is it the same or different than the number of heads vs. tails in your coin toss? Why do you think that is?
• How do you think your monster’s form affects its function? For example, would a monster with long legs move differently than a monster with short legs? Would a monster with sharp teeth eat different things than a monster with blunt teeth?
• Are genes the only thing that determines what an individual is like? Can you think of any times when the environment could affect an individual’s traits?