Reproduction of Living Things

Offspring receive half their DNA from their mother and half from their father, which when combined together create a unique mix of characteristics that may or may not resemble their parents’ characteristics.

DNA is the genetic information that determines all the characteristics of a living thing.

Animals protect their young in many ways. Some animals might create nests to protect their young, whereas others carry their young on their backs or in a pouch. Some animals, such as many insects and fish, leave their young to fend for themselves.

A chromosome is a coiled-up piece of DNA.

Reproduction is the process in which a parent organism creates an offspring.

An adaptation is anything that helps an organism survive and reproduce in its environment. There are two main types of adaptations: structural (a feature an organism has) and behavioral (an action an organism does).

In sexual reproduction, genes from two parents are recombined in their offspring. Asexual reproduction requires only one parent; the parent and offspring share identical genetic information.

A Punnett square can find the probability of an offspring expressing its parents’ traits.

(Answers may vary.) Asexual reproduction can be much faster because only one parent is needed. Recombining genes in sexual reproduction can create genetic variation.

A dominant allele needs only one copy to produce a trait, whereas a recessive allele needs two of the same copies.

Reproduction passes genes down from parent to offspring, ensuring the offspring’s survival.

Some examples are male weaver birds building amazing nests, a male bullfrog making deep croaks, a male pufferfish making patterns in the sand, a female octopus guarding her eggs, a kangaroo protecting her young by keeping them in her pouch, and penguin mothers hunting for days for food for their young.