A generation in a family is all of the people born and living around the same time.

A characteristic is a feature or property of something that we can use to help identify it.

Inheritance is the process of passing on physical features from parent to offspring when they reproduce.

An inherited characteristic has been passed from parent to offspring during reproduction.

An environmental characteristic is one which has been learned or acquired during an organism’s lifetime.

Inherited characteristics

Science

Where fossils are found (non-statutory)

What fossils can tell us about the past

How living things have changed over time

Human skulls: using evidence from the past (non-statutory)

Offspring: similar but not identical

Family trees (non-statutory)

Animal adaptations

Charles Darwin and finches

Plant adaptations

More about plant adaptations

The survival of the fittest

Evolution: evidence

Evolution: presentation

In this Evolution and inheritance unit, pupils learn that, normally, offspring vary and are not identical to parents. In the Heredity and DNA unit, they will build on this knowledge to learn about how genes and chromosomes work. 

In the New life unit, pupils learnt that animals, including humans have offspring which grow into adults. In this Evolution and Inheritance unit, pupils will build on this knowledge to recognise that living things produce offspring of the same kind, but normally offspring vary and are not identical to parents

This unit explores how living things have changed over time, using fossils as evidence of past life. It covers how offspring vary from parents and how adaptation leads to evolution. Emphasis is on planning scientific enquiries, recording data, and evaluating scientific evidence.

Evolution and inheritance

Subjects which particular individuals may be sensitive to, eg, adoption, migration, bereavement or death, divorce, poverty, deprivation.

Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

When living things reproduce they pass on {{}} to their offspring.

The money passed on to offspring by their parents.

The inherited characteristics passed on to offspring by their parents.

The environmental characteristics passed on to offspring by their parents.

Older generations pass on characteristics to younger ones.

Younger generations pass on characteristics to older ones.

People within the same generation pass characteristic between each other.

How are inherited characteristics passed on through generations?

Which of these is **not** an inherited characteristic?

Characteristics that are not passed down from parent to offspring are called {{}} characteristics.

Which of these is **not** an environmental characteristic?

The children or young of an organism are called …

Starting with the earliest, put these generations of Alex’s family in order.

someone who was born in the past and is directly related to you.

The total amount of people in a population.

All of the people born and living around the same time.

Offspring usually vary and are not identical to their parents.

Offspring are usually identical to their parents.

Offspring are usually completely different to their parents in every way.

Which of these statements about offspring is correct?

Some of them have eaten less than others.

They each share a different combination of characteristics with their parents.

They have spent different amounts of time in the sunlight.

These pigs have the same parents and were born at the same time. Why do they look different to each other?

Inherited characteristics

Lesson outcome

Content guidance