Unit 9 Lesson 4 What Are Heredity, Instincts, and Learned Behaviors? Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company 1

Unit 9 Lesson 4 What Are Heredity, Instincts, and Learned Behaviors? Florida Benchmarks SC.4.L.16.2 Explain that although characteristics of plants and animals are inherited, some characteristics can be affected by the environment. SC.4.L.16.3 Recognize that animal behaviors may be shaped by heredity and learning. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company 2

Like Mother, Like Daughter Unit 9 Lesson 4 What Are Heredity, Instincts, and Learned Behaviors? Like Mother, Like Daughter A trait is a feature of an individual, such as eye color. The passing of traits from parents to offspring is heredity. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company 3

Like Mother, Like Daughter Unit 9 Lesson 4 What Are Heredity, Instincts, and Learned Behaviors? Like Mother, Like Daughter Heredity happens in all living things. Flowers inherit their color. Giraffes inherit their long necks. Birds inherit their beak shape. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company 4

It’s in the Genes Genes contain chemical instructions for traits. Unit 9 Lesson 4 What Are Heredity, Instincts, and Learned Behaviors? It’s in the Genes Genes contain chemical instructions for traits. Half of your genes came from your mother. The other half came from your father. This gives you a mixture of genes from both parents. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company 5

Unit 9 Lesson 4 What Are Heredity, Instincts, and Learned Behaviors? It’s in the Genes Genes from the sperm unite with genes from the egg, giving the offspring genes from both parents. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company 6

It’s in the Genes Genetic Engineering Unit 9 Lesson 4 What Are Heredity, Instincts, and Learned Behaviors? It’s in the Genes Genetic Engineering Scientists can take the genes from one living thing and put them in another in a process called genetic engineering. This process changes the traits of the living thing. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company 7

Genes + Environment = You Unit 9 Lesson 4 What Are Heredity, Instincts, and Learned Behaviors? Genes + Environment = You The environment affects a living thing’s traits. For example, lack of food can cause living things to be smaller. Sunlight can change a person’s skin color and the direction a plant grows. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company 8

Learning Your Lesson The ability to learn helps an animal survive. Unit 9 Lesson 4 What Are Heredity, Instincts, and Learned Behaviors? Learning Your Lesson The ability to learn helps an animal survive. A learned behavior is something an animal learns from experience or by watching other animals. Baby ducks learn to follow their mother for safety. Animals learn to use tools and to do tricks. Humans learn to play games, like baseball. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company 9

Insight into Instincts Unit 9 Lesson 4 What Are Heredity, Instincts, and Learned Behaviors? Insight into Instincts Behaviors that an animal is born knowing are called instincts. Instincts help an animal survive. Instincts include birds knowing how to build nests and calves knowing how to nurse. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company 10

Insight into Instincts Unit 9 Lesson 4 What Are Heredity, Instincts, and Learned Behaviors? Insight into Instincts Some behaviors are a mixture of instinct and learned behaviors. Humans have an instinct to speak, but a particular language is learned. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company 11