Family Pedigree Project

Family Pedigree Project

Purpose:

To use what you’ve learned about genetics to create a family pedigree that traces 1 genetic trait through at least 3 generations of your family.

Objectives:

1. To create a pedigree for your family.

2. To test select individuals from your family for several genetic traits.

3. To determine which traits are dominant or recessive in your family.

Procedure:

1.  Now that you’ve had some practice, you will start to make a pedigree of your family that will show one genetic trait passed through at least 3 generations.

2.  Start with a list of all of your known relatives (both living and deceased). It should be easier if you list people according to families (ex: your aunt/uncle and their children).

3.  Next to each name, list their date of birth (if known), their relationship to you, and any other information that will help you to create your pedigree.

4.  When you have listed at least three generations (including your generation), you can start to draw out your pedigree.

5.  Leave some space below each person in the pedigree (circle/square), record the person’s name.

6.  Decide which trait you want to research about your family. You may use any of the following: ear lobe attachment, tongue rolling, hitchhiker’s thumb, vision (normal vision vs. nearsightedness or farsightedness, baldness, dimples, freckles, widow’s peak or any other characteristic that has only 1 trait.

7.  After collecting all the data for your family, record it on your pedigree. Remember to color in the circle/square of the people who have the trait.

8.  Use your pedigree to hypothesize the probable genotype of each of your family members. Include your hypothesis about whether you think this trait is caused by a dominant or recessive gene.