Year 9 - Science
Heritable variation
Adaptations, competition, natural selection and evolution
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit explores variation within and between species, competition, and natural selection. It focuses on asking questions, making predictions, planning scientific enquiries, and testing hypotheses. It also covers analysing results, explaining findings, and identifying new questions that arise.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to describe examples of different types of variation that can and cannot be passed on to an organism's offspring.
Key Notes
- There are differences in the features of individuals of the same species, and this is called variation.
- Some variation is caused by the environment (e.g. injuries) or lifestyle (e.g. exercising to grow big muscles).
- Environmental variation is not heritable, it cannot be passed on to offspring.
- Some variation is caused by genetic information (e.g. the instructions for making claws or camouflaged skin).
- Genetic variation is heritable, it can be passed on to offspring.
Vocabulary To Learn
- variation: Variation is the term for differences between individuals of the same species.
- environmental variation: Differences between individuals that are caused by the environment are known as environmental variation.
- genetic variation: Differences between individuals that are caused by the genetic material they inherit are known as genetic variation.
- offspring: The offspring of a living organism are the young produced following reproduction.
- heritable: Heritable traits are features that can be passed on from a parent to their offspring via instructions stored in genetic material (DNA).
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- It is common for students to believe that all types of variation can be passed on from parents to their offspring.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the scientific idea in this lesson using two key points.
There are differences in the features of individuals of the same species, and this is called variation. Some variation is caused by the environment (e.g. injuries) or lifestyle (e.g. exercising to grow big muscles).
2. Define this scientific word and use it in context. 'variation'
Variation is the term for differences between individuals of the same species. Include the word in a full scientific explanation, not as a single label.
3. Correct this common scientific misunderstanding.
Mistake: It is common for students to believe that all types of variation can be passed on from parents to their offspring. Correction: This lesson explores examples of variation that can and cannot be passed on from parents to their offspring, and links this to their causes.
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