Data

Survey at least 20 people to find out what traits they have for each of the features below. Tally the numbers for each trait and record those totals in each column.

When completing the survey, be sure to include yourself as one of the individuals surveyed. Also include at least one set of parents and offspring in the individuals you survey. Document the features of each member of the family you surveyed within the data table, but also make a special note of these features in the observation section of your report. This information will be important when writing your conclusion.

Feature / Trait / Total / Trait / Total
Earlobes / Free Earlobes / 20 / Attached Earlobes
Hair on knuckles / Hair present between second and third knuckle of fingers / 10 / No hair present between second and third knuckle of fingers / 10
Hair Line (widow’s peak vs. straight hair line) / Widow’s peak / 5 / Straight hair line / 15
Hair texture / Curly hair (count wavy hair as curly) / 18 / Straight hair / 2
Chin shape (no cleft chin vs. cleft chin) / Cleft chin / 3 / No cleft chin / 17

Observations:
Record the traits of each member of the family (parents and offspring) that you surveyed. Add more rows to the table for additional offspring as needed.

Family Member / Earlobes / Hair on Knuckles / Hair Line / Hair Texture / Chin Shape
Father / free / yes / Widows peak / curly / No cleft
Mother / free / yes / straight / curly / No cleft
Offspring 1 / free / no / straight / curly / No cleft

Calculations:
Calculate the percentages for each trait in your total sample and list those percentages in this section of your assignment.

Example calculation: (12 people with widow’s peaks ÷ 20 total people) × 100 = 60% widow’s peaks

Feature / Trait / Calculated Percentage / Trait / Calculated Percentage
Earlobes / Free Earlobes / 100% / Attached Earlobes
Hair on knuckles / Hair present between second and third knuckle of fingers / 50% / No hair present between second and third knuckle of fingers / 50%
Hair Line (widow's peak vs. straight hair line) / Widow's peak / 20% / Straight hair line / 80%
Hair texture / Curly hair (count wavy hair as curly) / 90% / Straight hair / 10%
Chin shape (no cleft chin vs. cleft chin) / Cleft chin / 15% / No cleft chin / 85%

Analysis and Conclusion:
Write a conclusion paragraph analyzing your results. In your conclusion, be sure to address the following questions:

  • Identify the trait that you believe to be dominant for each of the features surveyed. Explain your reasoning.
  • Free earlobes, curly hair, straight hairline, and no cleft chin were dominate because mostly I only surveyed my family so there wasn’t much of a diversity in the traits, although 50% of the people I surveyed had a straight hair line and the other didn’t.
  • What recessive features do you exhibit? Do you have any relatives who exhibit those same features?
  • One recessive feature would be that I have long eyelashes and only me and my little brother have this trait
  • In the family you surveyed, what features did the offspring share with one or both parents? Were there any features that the offspring exhibited that were not exhibited by either parent?
  • The whole family had no clef chin and curly hair but the parents had hair knuckles and the child did not
  • How is it possible for an offspring to exhibit a recessive trait if neither parent exhibited that recessive trait? What must be true about the parents’ genes for this to occur?
  • Because the child could have inherited the traits from other family members not just the parents because the parents contain both alleles from their father and mother so the trait can show up in a later generation.
  • Are there any results in your data that surprised you?
  • No, not really
  • It is possible that a recessive trait in a survey such as this one may have a greater total number than its dominant counterpart. Explain how that might happen in an investigation like this.
  • Because all of the offspring can inherit the same recessive trait.
  • How might surveying a different number of people or different population of people possibly change the percentages that you calculated?
  • It would probably be much different because more people are able to be involved and include their answers so there would be differ in the percentages