Rock, Paper, Scissors—Dominant and Recessive Traits from ...

Rock, Paper, Scissors—Dominant and

Recessive Traits from Parent to Offspring
Science/Heredity

Purpose Background
Students will explore how dominant When plants and animals reproduce sexually, the traits of their offspring
and recessive traits are expressed and are determined by a combination of genes from each parent. Each parent
learn how knowledge of heredity is contributes one-half of the genes for each trait. In the simplest cases, genes
important to agriculture. are either dominant or recessive. When a dominant gene combines with
Time: 1–2 hours a recessive gene, the dominant gene’s characteristics are expressed in the
Level: Elementary offspring. When two recessive genes are combined, the recessive characteristic
Materials is expressed in the offspring. Co-dominance occurs when the genes for a
Activity 1 particular trait are equally strong. In this case, the two variations of the gene
‰‰ “Rock, Paper, Scissors Recording are expressed in equal strength.
Plant breeders use knowledge of dominant and recessive traits to create
Chart” 1 per pair of students new varieties of crop plants and ornamental plants. In agriculture there
‰‰ “Plant Features” activity sheet, 1 are many examples of dominant, recessive, and co-dominant traits. Some
examples are listed below:
per pair of students • Red potato skin is dominant over white potato skin.
‰‰ Crayons and scissors • Russet-colored potato skin is dominant over white potato skin.
‰‰ 5 gene pool containers made from • Green peas are dominant over yellow peas.
• Red cherry tomatoes are dominant over yellow cherry tomatoes.
shoe boxes or baskets and labeled • Red and white snapdragon flowers are co-dominant and produce pink
“Leaves,” “Fruit,” “Flowers,”
“Roots,” and “Stems” flowers.
‰‰ “What Does It Look Like?” • Short and tall corn plants are co-dominant and produce medium height
activity sheet, 1 per student
Activity 2 corn plants.
‰‰ 6 colors of glitter: red, gold, blue, • Tall sunflower plants are dominant over short sunflower plants.
sliver, green, and magenta • Yellow-kernel corn is dominant over white-kernel corn.
‰‰ 8 small paper plates
‰‰ Plant Parent 1 Cards, copied and Activity Procedures
cut apart to provide 1 per student Activity 1: Rock, Paper, Scissors
‰‰ Chenille stems cut into 3-inch 1. Have students list words that are associated with the terms dominant
pieces, 1 piece per student
‰‰ “Glitter Plant Trait Key” handout (dominated, dominating, dominate, domain, dominance, predominant,
‰‰ “Glittering Offspring” activity dominator, etc.) and recessive (recessively, recede, recess, receded,
sheet, 1 per student receding, recessional, recession, etc.).
2. Discuss the difference between dominating a situation and receding
Utah Agriculture in the Classroom from a situation and provide examples. For instance, if two people
wanted to climb up the ladder of a slide at the same time, one person
might dominate the situation by yelling or pushing the other person
out of the way. Another person might recede by walking away and
playing somewhere else. The receding person may play at the slide later
when there is less competition (similar to recessive genes). Role-play
a few situations, such as lining up after recess or participating in class
discussions.
3. Describe the game Rock, Paper, Scissors using the words dominant and
recessive. Explain that rock dominates scissors, scissors dominate paper,
and paper dominates rock.
4. Divide students into pairs, and provide each pair with a copy of the “Rock,
Paper, Scissors Recording Chart.”

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Vocabulary 5. Instruct the students to play Rock, Paper Scissors ten times and record the
dominant gene: a gene that can outcome of each round on the chart.
hide the effect of a recessive gene
recessive gene: a gene whose 6. Discuss the outcomes that students observed. Are there ways of making
expression can be hidden certain one person will always dominate (win)?
traits: distinguishing characteristics
or qualities 7. Discuss dominant and recessive in terms of genes and heredity.
8. Provide each pair of students with a copy of the “Plant Features” activity
Utah Agriculture in the Classroom
sheet to color and cut out. When finished, ask students to place the
features into the prepared gene pool containers (boxes, envelopes, etc.)
labeled “Leaves,” “Fruit,” “Flowers,” “Roots,” and “Stems.”
9. Place the five gene pool containers in different locations throughout the
room.
10. Hand out a copy of the “What Does It Look Like?” activity sheet to each
pair of students.
11. Next, have each individual student randomly select one feature from each
of the gene pool containers.
12. Returning to their pairs, have the students fill in the activity sheet with the
features chosen. The partners then need to determine what their plant
looks like. For example, if one partner chooses a dominant round fruit and
the other partner chooses a recessive oval fruit, the plant will have round
fruit. Finally, ask students to draw their plants, showing the appropriate
features.
13. Have the students display their plants. Compare the number of dominant
traits expressed to the number of recessive traits expressed. Discuss the
wide variety of plants produced from the same gene pool and how this
activity shows that it is highly unlikely for two brothers or sisters to have
exactly the same genetic makeup.
14. Discuss how knowledge of dominant and recessive traits is important to
agriculture. Ask students to think of all the different types of apples (or
lettuce, onions, potatoes, etc.) they can buy at the grocery store. Each of
these different types was developed by plant breeders who cross different
parent plants to get the characteristics they want.
Alternative Teaching Strategies for Activity 1:
• Rather than working in pairs, have the class create one plant on a flannel
board by randomly selecting from the gene pool.
• When discussing traits that are dominant, co-dominant, and recessive, use
colored markers and a whiteboard to illustrate. Two colors can be blended
for co-dominance and a recessive color can be erased.
Activity 2: Mixing Inherited Traits
1. Place the following eight piles of mixed glitter on small paper plates and
spread the plates out on a table, leaving at least a foot between plates.
• Red, blue, and green
• Red, silver, and green
• Red, blue, and magenta
• Red, silver, and magenta
• Gold, blue, and green
• Gold, silver, and green
• Gold, blue, and magenta
• Gold, silver, and magenta
2. Pass out one Plant Parent 1 Card to each student. Explain that the card
represents one parent plant and that each color on the card represents one
trait that the parent will pass on to its offspring.

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Utah Agriculture in the Classroom 3. Pass out one chenille stem piece to each student. Tell students that they
are going to become pollinators. The chenille stems represent the hairy
legs of a bee and the glitter piles represent the flowers of second parent
plant.

4. Show students how to bend the chenille stems into “bee legs” (a right
angle bend near one end).

5. Tell students they will visit one of the eight flowers (glitter piles) that will be
the second parent (Parent 2) to the offspring they are creating.

6. Ask each student to visit and place his or her “bee leg” into one pile of
glitter.

7. Have students return to their desks and remove the glitter from the “legs”
onto a sheet of paper. Have them identify which colors are present for
Parent 2 and compare them to the colors from the Plant Parent 1 Card.

8. Explain that sometimes a trait that an offspring receives from a parent is
not visible, even though the offspring carries the information for that trait.

9. Show students the “Glitter Plant Trait Key,” which lists the trait that the
offspring will exhibit for each color (trait) received from Parent 1 and
Parent 2.

10. Hand out and ask students to complete the “Glittering Offspring” activity
sheet. They should use the glitter code listed at the top of the “Glitter Plant
Trait Key” handout: red/gold colors determine the color of the petals;
blue/silver colors determine the length of the stem; and green/magenta
determine the color of the leaf.
• Example: If you had red, silver, and green listed from your Plant
Parent 1 Card, and you obtained the colors gold, silver, and magenta
from your glitter pile (Parent 2), then your plant would have:
Red and Gold = Red Petals
Silver and Silver = Short Stem
Green and Magenta = Dark Green Leaves

11. Review with students which colors from the “Glitter Plant Trait Key”
represent dominant traits and which represent recessive traits. Discuss the
similarities and differences among the offspring and the frequencies of
each visible trait. Discuss the challenges that recessive traits might pose to
plant breeders.

Additional Activities
• Have the students design their own dominant and recessive features

for the gene pool, perhaps adding some co-dominant traits for them to
consider. Have them create the offspring with modeling clay.
• Display pictures of two parent plants along with four different pictures
of possible offspring. Have the students select which offspring is most
appropriate based upon a list of dominant and recessive traits that you
provide. Students should be able to justify their answers.
• Have two pairs of students cross their plants to produce offspring. Create
the offspring by random selection traits from each plant’s gene pool. Have
one pair of students hold their traits behind their backs while the other pair
chooses right or left hand to arrive at a trait. This process can continue
through several generations. Display the plant’s family tree on a bulletin
board.
• Based on features in an offspring, discuss what the parent plants may have
looked like.

This lesson was adapted with permission from California Agriculture in the Classroom.

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Plant Features

Color and cut out the dominant and recessive features and place them in the appropriate boxes as
explained by your teacher.

Dominant Recessive

Leaf

Dominant Recessive
Leaf Leaf

Fruit Dominant Recessive
Flower Fruit Fruit
Root
Stem Dominant Recessive
Flower Flower

Dominant Recessive
Root Root

Dominant Recessive
Stem Stem

Rock, Paper, Scissors Recording Chart

Name ____________________________________________ Date _______________________________

Round Partner A Partner B Outcome

Throw: Throw: Write one of these possible outcomes:
• rock • rock • rock dominates scissors
• paper • paper • scissors dominates paper
• scissors • scissors • paper dominates rock
• rock, paper, or scissors tie

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1) Which outcome was most common in your partnership?

2) Which outcome was the least common?

3) Were your results similar to the results of the class?

4) Describe one thing you learned about heredity by doing this activity.

What Does It Look Like?

Name ____________________________________________ Date _______________________________

Complete the chart and draw a picture of what your flower looks like.

Round Partner A Partner B Outcome

Leaf

Fruit

Flower

Stem

Root

Plant Diagram

Reminder
• two dominant genes =

dominant trait
• two recessive genes =

recessive trait
• one dominant gene and

one recessive gene =
dominant trait

Glitter Code: Glitter Plant Trait Key

Red or Gold = Color of Petals
Blue or Silver = Length of Stem
Green or Magenta = Color of Leaves

Plant 1 Plant 2 Visible Trait

(Parent 1 card) (Glitter) Red Petals
Red Red Red Petals
Red Gold Red Petals
Gold Red White Petals
Gold Gold Tall Stem
Blue Blue Tall Stem
Blue Silver Tall Stem
Silver Blue Short Stem
Silver Silver Dark Green Leaves
Dark Green Leaves
Green Green Dark Green Leaves
Green Magenta Light Green Leaves
Magenta
Magenta Green
Magenta

Plant Parent 1 Cards

Parent 1 Parent 1

Red Gold
Blue Blue
Green Green

Parent 1 Parent 1

Red Gold
Silver Silver
Green Green

Parent 1 Parent 1

Red Gold
Blue Blue
Magenta Magenta

Parent 1 Parent 1

Red Gold
Silver Silver
Magenta Magenta

Glittering Offspring

Name ____________________________________________ Date _______________________________

Complete the table and draw a picture of the plant offspring.

Parent 1 Parent 2 Outcome

Flower Petal

Stem

Leaf

Plant Offspring