In this lesson, students learn about basic genetics and how genes can affect someone's behavior. They will write their own narrative about a character they create as a class in order to illustrate the effects of inherited traits and learned behaviors.

Students will discover the difference between inherited traits and learned behaviors by bringing the traits to life in a game of charades. After that, the students will demonstrate knowledge of recessive and dominant traits as they help the Egg, Cantaloupe and Ball families create their offspring in "The Gene Connection Show."

Biology 2e is designed to cover the scope and sequence requirements of a typical two-semester biology course for science majors. The text provides comprehensive coverage of foundational research and core biology concepts through an evolutionary lens. Biology includes rich features that engage students in scientific inquiry, highlight careers in the biological sciences, and offer everyday applications. The book also includes various types of practice and homework questions that help students understand—and apply—key concepts. The 2nd edition has been revised to incorporate clearer, more current, and more dynamic explanations, while maintaining the same organization as the first edition. Art and illustrations have been substantially improved, and the textbook features additional assessments and related resources.

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Compare innate and learned behavior
Discuss how movement and migration behaviors are a result of natural selection
Discuss the different ways members of a population communicate with each other
Give examples of how species use energy for mating displays and other courtship behaviors
Differentiate between various mating systems
Describe different ways that species learn