Inheritance and Variation Test

3rd Grade ScienceInheritance and Variation9 pages

About this worksheet

A 32-question end-of-unit test on inheritance and variation for 3rd grade science. Section 1 has five multiple-choice items and ten true or false statements. Section 2 asks students to read a dog family table and a sunflower height table. Section 3 has five items that sort traits as Inherited or Environment, plus two written answers. Each section has its own score box, and the test covers NGSS 3-LS3-1 and 3-LS3-2. The answer key includes the subtraction for the sunflower height gap and model written answers.

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Inheritance and Variation Test: Inheritance and Variation - page 1
Inheritance and Variation Test: Inheritance and Variation - page 2
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Inheritance and Variation Test: Inheritance and Variation - page 9

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Curriculum objectives covered

3-LS3-1

“Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variation of these traits exists in a group of similar organisms.”

The dog family table in questions 16 to 20, the sunflower heights in 21 to 24, and the frog spots in question 31.

3-LS3-2

“Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment.”

Question 25 on the shaded sunflower, questions 26 to 30 on classifying traits, and question 32, plus true or false items 7, 8, 10, 11, and 14.

What's inside this worksheet

Section 1: Core Knowledge

Questions 1 to 5 ask what a trait is, where inherited traits come from, and what variation means. Questions 6 to 15 are true or false, including a scar on a lion's leg and a flamingo turning pink from shrimp.

Section 2: Data Interpretation

Part A lists fur color, ear shape, and tail length for two parent dogs and two puppies (questions 16 to 20). Part B gives heights of five sunflowers from 45 to 65 inches, with Plant 3 growing in shade (questions 21 to 25).

Section 3: Analysis and Constructed Response

Questions 26 to 30 label traits such as a storm-damaged tree and a rabbit's long ears. Question 31 asks why frogs of one species have different spots, and question 32 asks for an example of the environment changing a trait.

How teachers use it

Summative test

Give the whole test over one or two sittings at the end of your heredity unit. The section score boxes let you see at a glance where each student lost points.

Pretest

Use Section 1 alone as a pretest before the unit starts. Its 15 short items show which ideas, such as scars not being passed on, you need to teach directly.

Data skills review

Question 23 asks for the gap between the tallest and shortest sunflower (65 minus 45). It works as a quick math link if your class has just studied subtraction.

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