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Two pea plants make seeds. The seeds look a little like each parent. They do not look exactly like either one. A gene is one unit of instruction for a trait. A trait is a feature, like seed shape. Each parent passes genes to its seeds.

This is Chapter 8, Heredity, in your NCERT Science book. It explains how traits pass from parents to children.

What you will learn

• Resemble both, match neither. A child gets a gene copy from each parent.
• The man who counted. Mendel, a pea scientist, used lines that breed true, and counted.
• The hidden one comes back. A trait can hide, then return.
• The count is the argument. Big counts come close to three to one.
• Two traits at once. The counts come near nine, three, three and one.
• Which contribution decides. One parent's cell decides a child's sex.
• The laws in plain words. Three short laws predict a cross.

Need a quick recap?

Two earlier lessons can help if you want a refresher.

• What gets passed on, from Reproduction: How Life Continues.
• Inside one cell, from Cell: The Building Block of Life.

Every lab here uses peas and made-up crosses. No lab asks about you or your family.