Class 10 Science - KERALA
Heredity
The Class 10 SCERT Kerala chapter 'Heredity' explores how traits are passed from parents to offspring. It introduces Gregor Mendel's pioneering experiments on pea plants, explaining dominant and recessive traits, monohybrid and dihybrid crosses, and the laws of inheritance. Students will also learn about the role of DNA, genes, and chromosomes in determining characteristics, as well as the mechanism of sex determination in humans. This chapter is vital for the Kerala SSLC board exams as it carries high weightage for both objective and descriptive questions, testing your conceptual clarity on genetic ratios and biological terminology.
Start Learning FreeKey Concepts
Heredity and Variation
Heredity is the transmission of characters from parents to offspring, while variation refers to the differences shown by individuals of the same species.
Mendel's Monohybrid Cross
A cross between two parents differing in a single pair of contrasting characters, leading to the famous 3:1 phenotypic ratio in the F2 generation.
Dominant and Recessive Traits
Dominant traits express themselves even in the presence of an alternative allele, whereas recessive traits are masked unless both alleles are recessive.
Genotype and Phenotype
Genotype represents the genetic makeup of an organism, while phenotype refers to its observable physical characteristics.
Sex Determination in Humans
Human sex is determined by sex chromosomes; females have XX chromosomes and males have XY chromosomes, making the father responsible for the sex of the child.
Important Formulas
Board Exam Info
In the Kerala (SCERT) Class 10 Biology board examination, this chapter typically carries around 6 to 8 marks. Questions frequently include problems based on Mendel's crosses, explaining phenotypic and genotypic ratios, sex determination diagrams, and definitions of key genetic terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Mendel chose garden pea plants because they have easily identifiable contrasting traits, are easy to cultivate, have a short life cycle, and naturally self-pollinate but can also be easily cross-pollinated artificially.
Mendel chose garden pea plants because they possess distinct contrasting characters, have a short life cycle, and allow both self-pollination and controlled cross-pollination.
What is the difference between acquired and inherited traits?
Inherited traits are passed down genetically from parents to offspring through DNA and affect germ cells. Acquired traits are developed during a lifetime due to environmental influence or practice and are not passed on to the next generation.
How is the sex of a child determined in human beings?
Human females have two X chromosomes (XX) and produce eggs with an X chromosome. Males have an X and a Y chromosome (XY) and produce two types of sperms: 50% with X and 50% with Y. If a sperm carrying an X fertilizes the egg, the child is a girl (XX); if a sperm carrying a Y fertilizes the egg, the child is a boy (XY).
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