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Year 9 Notes On Inheritance of Sex in Humans GC

The inheritance of sex in humans is determined by the combination of X and Y chromosomes, where females have XX and males have XY. A Punnett Square can be used to predict a 50% probability of having a boy or a girl based on the parents' chromosomes. The document includes activities to analyze and predict offspring sex using the Punnett Square.

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19 views5 pages

Year 9 Notes On Inheritance of Sex in Humans GC

The inheritance of sex in humans is determined by the combination of X and Y chromosomes, where females have XX and males have XY. A Punnett Square can be used to predict a 50% probability of having a boy or a girl based on the parents' chromosomes. The document includes activities to analyze and predict offspring sex using the Punnett Square.

Uploaded by

atoyebi.oluwatoope
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Year 9 Notes on Inheritance of Sex in Humans

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1. Explain the inheritance of sex in humans using XX and XY
chromosomes.
Use a Punnett Square to predict the probability of a child being
male or female.

LESSON NOTES

The inheritance of sex in humans is determined by sex


chromosomes. These chromosomes are called X and Y. Every
human has two sex chromosomes in each body cell, which decide
whether they are male or female.
Key Points:
1. Sex Chromosomes:
o Females have two X chromosomes (XX).
o Males have one X chromosome and one Y
chromosome (XY).
2. Parents and Offspring:
o When parents have children, they each pass one of
their sex chromosomes to their offspring:
 The mother can only pass an X chromosome,
because she is XX.
 The father can pass either an X chromosome or
a Y chromosome, because he is XY.
o The combination of these chromosomes determines the
child’s sex:
 XX = Female
 XY = Male
3. Relatable Example:
o Think of the father as having a "choice" between two
kinds of "presents" to give his child: one wrapped in an
X chromosome and the other in a Y chromosome.
The mother only gives "X chromosome presents."
o If the child gets an X from both parents, the child is a
girl.
o If the child gets an X from the mother and a Y from
the father, the child is a boy.

Using a Punnett Square to Show Inheritance


of Sex

The Punnett Square is a simple diagram to predict the possible


outcomes for the sex of a baby. Here's how it works:
Steps
1. Write the mother’s chromosomes (XX) along the top.
2. Write the father’s chromosomes (XY) along the side.
3. Combine one chromosome from the mother with one from
the father in each box.
X X
(Mother (Mother
) )
X
XX (Girl) XX (Girl)
(Father)
Y
XY (Boy) XY (Boy)
(Father)

Results:
 Two boxes show XX (girls).
 Two boxes show XY (boys).
 This means there’s a 50% chance of having a boy and a
50% chance of having a girl.
Quick Fun Fact:
 The "Y chromosome" is smaller than the "X chromosome"
but carries genes crucial for developing male characteristics.
CLASS ACTIVITIES
Activity 1: Analyze and Predict
Instructions: Analyze the Punnett square below and answer the questions.

X X
(Mother (Mother
) )

X
(Father XX XX
)

Y
(Father XY XY
)

Questions:
1. What percentage of the offspring are female?
2. What percentage of the offspring are male?
3. If the parents have 4 children, how many are likely to be boys?

Activity 2: Predicting Offspring Sex


Instructions: Analyze the Punnett square below and answer the questions.

X X
(Mother (Mother
) )

X
(Father XX XX
)

Y
(Father XY XY
)

Questions:
1. What is the ratio of female offspring to male offspring?
2. If the parents have 6 children, how many are likely to be girls?
3. What is the probability of having a boy in any single pregnancy?

ANSWERS

Activity 1: Analyze and Predict


1. What percentage of the offspring are female?
o 50% (2 out of 4 boxes are XX, which represent
females).
2. What percentage of the offspring are male?
o 50% (2 out of 4 boxes are XY, which represent males).
3. If the parents have 4 children, how many are likely to
be boys?
o 2 boys (Since there’s a 50% chance of having a boy for
each child, it’s likely that 2 out of 4 children will be
boys).

Activity 2: Predicting Offspring Sex


1. What is the ratio of female offspring to male
offspring?
o 2:2 or 1:1 (There are 2 females (XX) and 2 males
(XY)).
2. If the parents have 6 children, how many are likely to
be girls?
o 3 girls (Since there is a 50% chance of having a girl, 3
out of 6 children are likely to be girls).
3. What is the probability of having a boy in any single
pregnancy?
o 50% (There is a 50% chance of having a boy, as half of
the possible combinations are XY, which are boys).

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