Create a Face Genetics Lab Activity

Have you ever wondered why everybody looks different from everybody else, even when they are closely
related, even brothers and sisters? It is because of the large variety of traits (characteristics) that exist in
the human population. This lab activity will illustrate the inheritance of human traits and show why such
variations happen. You and your partner will determine what traits an offspring would have, based on both
parents being heterozygous for each trait. Then, you will draw what the face of your offspring would look
like.
Materials
2 pennies
Chart of Human Variations
Paper
Colored pencils, markers, crayons
Procedure
Each person needs one penny for this activity.

Determine which partner will toss for the male and which partner will toss for the female.

Have the partner who is representing the male flip their coin. If the coin lands heads up, the
offspring is female. If the coin lands tails up, the offspring is male. Record if your child is male or
female.

For the rest of the coin tosses, HEADS will represent the DOMINANT allele and TAILS will represent
the RECESSIVE allele. For each trait on the chart you will flip a coin to determine what GENOTYPE
your offspring will have. Coins should only be flipped one time per partner per trait. Use the Human
Variations chart to determine phenotype.
Example: For shape of face your partner tossed heads (R) and you tossed tails (r). This
means that your offsprings genotype is Rr and the child will have a phenotype of a round
face. If you had both tossed tails (r) the child would have a square shaped face (rr). If you
had both tossed heads (R) the child would have a round shaped face (RR).

As you and your partner flip your coins, fill in the information on a separate sheet of paper:
Trait

Shape of face (F, f)

Cleft in chin (C, c)
Hair texture (H, h)
Widows Peak (W, w)
Spacing of eyes (E, e)
Shape of eyes (A, a)
Position of eyes (S, s)
Size of eyes (L, l)
Shape of eyebrows (T, t)
Position of eyebrows (U,
u)

Allele from Mom

Allele from
Dad

Genotype

Phenotype

Shape of nose (N, n)

Shape of lips (B, b)
Shape of earlobe (L, l)
Freckles (F, f)
Dimples (D, d)
Blood Type: The ABO blood group includes four types of blood (A, B, AB, and O). The differences in
blood types are due to the presence or absence of certain types of antigens. Antigens are proteins
that are located on the surface of the red blood cells (RBCs), and they tell the bodys immune system
that those red blood cells belong. If you receive a transfusion of blood from someone that has
different antigens from you, your immune system will attack and destroy those cells.
The male will have the alleles IAi and the female will have the alleles IBi. Flip a coin for each parent
to determine which alleles are given to the offspring, then record your childs blood type.

If the genotype is

The blood type is

IAIA or IAi

IBIB or IBi

ii

IAIB

AB

Some traits are polygenic (controlled by more than one gene) hair, eye and skin color are examples
of polygenic traits.

Hair Color dark hair is dominant over light. To determine the color of your offsprings hair, assume
there are two gene pairs involved (there are actually probably more than that, but lets keep it
simple for this activity). Flip your coins once to determine the genotype of the first pair of alleles
(AA, Aa or aa). Then flip your coins again to determine the genotype of the second pair of alleles
(BB, Bb or bb). Find the genotype of your offspring on the list below to determine the hair color of
your offspring. Record your childs hair color.

If the genotype is The hair color is

If the genotype is The hair color is

AABB

Black

Aabb

Regular blonde

AABb

Black

aaBB

Dark blonde

AAbb

Red

aaBb

Regular blonde

AaBB

Brown

aabb

Pale yellow
blonde

AaBb

Brown

Eye Color dark eyes are dominant over light. To determine the color of your offsprings eyes,
assume there are two gene pairs involved. One pair codes for depositing pigment in the front of the
iris. The other pair codes for depositing pigment in the back of the iris. Flip your coins once to
determine the genotype of the first pair of alleles (AA, Aa or aa). Then flip your coins again to
determine the genotype of the second pair of alleles (BB, Bb or bb). Find the genotype of your
offspring on the list below to determine the eye color of your offspring. Record your offsprings eye
color.
If the genotype
is

The eye color is

If the genotype is The eye color is

AABB

Dark brown

Aabb

Gray-blue

AABb

Dark brown

aaBB

Green

AAbb

Brown

aaBb

Dark blue

AaBB

Brown with green

flecks

aabb

Light blue (hazel)

AaBb

Brown

Skin Color skin color is controlled by a lot of different genes that basically act together to
determine how dark the skin is and variations in skin tone. To simulate how skin color might be
determined, flip a single coin 10 times. Each time the coin lands heads up, give your offspring a
point. After the 10 coin flips, add up how many points your offspring has. 10 points would be a very
dark child and 1 point would be a very pale child. How many points does your offspring have?
____________
Analysis & Conclusion Questions - Answer on a separate sheet of paper. You will turn these in! You do
not need to write the questions.
1. Was your child exactly like any other child in the room? What do you think the probability is that two
children in the room would turn out exactly alike?
2. Which traits are codominant? Explain what it means for a trait to be codominant using one of these
traits as an example, and draw a Punnett square and write the phenotype/genotype percentages for
that trait.
3. Which traits are incompletely dominant? Explain what it means for a trait to be incomplete dominant
using one of these traits as an example, and draw a Punnett square and write the phenotype/
genotype percentages for that trait.
4. List four traits that are show simple (Mendelian) dominance. Explain what it means for a trait to
show simple dominance using one of these traits as an example.
5. Why did you have to flip the coin twice to determine hair and eye color? Draw a Punnett square for
hair color and include phenotype/genotype ratios.

Now that you have determined the traits of your offspring you will draw a picture! Use colors and try
to make the drawing look as accurate as possible given the traits that your child inherited. Draw a
red blood cell off to the side showing the childs blood type. Make sure you name your child too!