1/10/2025 Heredity and Evolution Class 10 Notes Science Chapter 8 Free PDF
Chapter Notes: Heredity
When living things reproduce, they make new individuals that are mostly like their parents
but with some differences. Even though asexual reproduction (where only one parent is
involved) can create a few differences, sexual reproduction (where two parents are
involved) leads to many more variations. For example, sugarcane plants in a eld look very
similar, but animals and humans, which reproduce sexually, show a lot of different traits.
In this chapter, we will learn how these differences are created and passed on to the
next generation.
Accumulation of Variation During Reproduction
Basic Design Inheritance: Offspring inherit a basic body design from their parents, or
we can say that parents pass the basic structure on to their offspring.
Changes: Each generation has some small changes compared to the previous one.
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1/10/2025 Heredity and Evolution Class 10 Notes Science Chapter 8 Free PDF
Next Generation Differences: When the second generation reproduces, their
offspring will inherit traits from the second generation.
New Variations: Each new generation also develops new differences naturally.
For example, in asexual reproduction, If a bacterial cell divides and creates new cells over
two generations, there will be only tiny differences between them. These small changes
happen because of slight mistakes in copying the DNA.
Division in Bacterial Cells Over Two Generations
Note: Small mistakes in DNA copying can lead to variations, but when sexual reproduction
occurs, it creates even more diversity.
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1/10/2025 Heredity and Evolution Class 10 Notes Science Chapter 8 Free PDF
Do all the different variations within a species have the same likelihood of
surviving in their environment?
Not all variations within a species have equal survival chances in their
environment.
Survival depends on the speci c traits of each variation.
For example, heat-resistant bacteria are more likely to survive during a heat
wave.
Environmental factors select for certain traits, which is a key part of
evolution.
Try yourself: Which type of reproduction leads to more variations in offspring?
a. Asexual reproduction
b. Sexual reproduction
c. Both asexual and sexual reproduction
d. None of the above
View Solution
What is Heredity?
Heredity is the process of transferring characteristics from parents to offspring
through reproduction. It explains how traits like skin color, hair type, eye color,
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1/10/2025 Heredity and Evolution Class 10 Notes Science Chapter 8 Free PDF
2. Rules for the Inheritance of Traits- Mendel’s Contributions
Gregor Johann Mendel, often referred to as the 'Father of Genetics,' made
signi cant contributions to our understanding of how traits are inherited.
Through his experiments with pea plants, Mendel developed key principles that
form the foundation of modern genetics.
Pea Plant Experiment: Mendel studied pea plants with different traits, such as seed
shape (round or wrinkled) and plant height (tall or short). He began by crossing plants
that differed in only one trait, such as height.
(a) He crossed pea plants on the basis of one trait (height) (e.g., a tall
plant with a short plant)
Single Trait Inheritance (Monohybrid Inheritance): Through his experiments with pea
plants, Mendel developed key principles that form the foundation of modern genetics.
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1/10/2025 Heredity and Evolution Class 10 Notes Science Chapter 8 Free PDF
and height are passed from one generation to the next.
Let's study the rules of Heredity in detail:
1. Inherited Traits
Traits are features passed down from parents, such as eye or skin colour.
Genetic Variation: Offspring may inherit traits in various combinations based on the
genes responsible.
Example: If a parent has brown and black eyes, the child might inherit brown, black, or a
mix of both eye colours. This results in variations while retaining basic features.
Earlobe Example: If both parents have free earlobes, their children are more likely to
have free earlobes, suggesting that earlobe type is inherited according to certain rules.
Attached and Free Ear Lobe
Heredity and Evolution | Biology (Science) | Class 10
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First Generation (F1): When Mendel crossed a tall pea plant with a short one, all the
offspring in the rst generation (F1) were tall. This result indicated that the trait of
tallness was dominant over the trait of shortness.
Second Generation (F2): Mendel then allowed the F1 plants to self-pollinate. In the
second generation (F2), he observed that while most of the plants were tall, a few were
short. This result showed that both traits (tall and short) were inherited, but tallness
was dominant.
Mendel’s Conclusion: From these observations, Mendel concluded that each trait is
controlled by two copies of a factor, now known as genes. These copies can be identical
or different, depending on what the parents pass on to their offspring.
Genotype and Phenotype Ratios
Genotypic Ratio: In the F2 generation, Mendel found that the ratio of different genetic
combinations (genotypes) was 1:2:1. This means that for every four plants, one was
homozygous tall (TT), two were heterozygous tall (Tt), and one was homozygous short
(tt).
Phenotypic Ratio: The ratio of physical appearances (phenotypes) was 3:1. This means
that three out of four plants were tall, and one was short. This ratio is an example of
monohybrid inheritance, where a single pair of alleles determines a speci c trait.
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Try yourself: What is heredity?
a. The transfer of characteristics from offspring to parents.
b. The transfer of characteristics from parents to offspring.
c. The transfer of characteristics between siblings.
d. The transfer of characteristics within a generation.
View Solution
(b) He crossed pea plants on the basis of two traits: shape and colour of
seeds.
Pea Plant Experiment with Two Traits: In one experiment, Mendel crossed pea plants that
differed in two traits—seed shape (round or wrinkled) and seed colour (yellow or
green). Two Trait Inheritance (Dihybrid Inheritance) is the simultaneous inheritance of
two traits, leading to the concept of dihybrid inheritance.
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Example: When Mendel crossed a plant with round yellow seeds (RRYY) with one
having wrinkled green seeds (rryy), all the F1 offspring had round yellow seeds (RrYy),
showing that round shape and yellow colour were dominant traits.
F2 Generation: Mendel allowed the F1 plants to self-pollinate. In the F2 generation, he
observed a variety of combinations of seed shapes and colours. The phenotypic ratio in
the F2 generation was 9:3:3:1, meaning there were 9 round yellow seeds, 3 round green
seeds, 3 wrinkled yellow seeds, and 1 wrinkled green seed.
Conclusion: Mendel concluded that different traits are inherited independently of each
other, following the principle of independent assortment. This concept is now known as
dihybrid inheritance, where two pairs of alleles for different traits are passed on
independently.
How do These Traits Get Expressed?
Traits, like how tall a plant grows, come from something called DNA in each cell. DNA is
like a set of instructions for making proteins, which are important for different
functions in the body. Each part of DNA that tells the cell how to make a speci c
protein is called a gene.
Let’s use plant height as an example. Plants have a hormone that helps them grow. How
tall a plant gets depends on how much of this hormone it makes. The gene responsible
for making the enzyme (a type of protein) that helps produce this hormone affects how
well the hormone is made.
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If the enzyme works well, the plant grows tall. If it doesn’t work well because of a
change in the gene, the plant will be shorter.
When plants or animals reproduce, they get half of their genes from each parent. This
means that each parent contributes equally to the traits of their offspring.
Every cell in the plant or animal has two copies of each gene, one from the mother and
one from the father. However, cells that are used for reproduction (like eggs and sperm)
only have one copy of each gene.
When these reproductive cells come together, they combine to create a new organism
with two sets of genes, one from each parent. This process ensures that the new
organism has the right number of genes and traits.
Traits are determined by proteins made from genes, and the way genes are
passed from parents to offspring explains why the offspring have certain traits.
This process of passing on traits happens in all organisms that reproduce sexually,
and similar rules apply to those that reproduce asexually.
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Try yourself: What determines the traits of an organism?
a. Genes passed down from the parents
b. Environment and upbringing
c. Random chance
d. Changes in DNA during an organism's life
View Solution
Sex Determination
Sex determination in organisms can vary based on different
mechanisms:
Temperature-Dependent Determination: In some reptiles, the temperature at which
the fertilized eggs are incubated in uences the sex of the offspring.
Environmental In uence: In snails, sex can change based on environmental factors.
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Sex Determination in Humans: In humans, sex determination is
primarily governed by genetics:
Chromosomes and Traits:
Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes.
22 pairs are responsible for determining various traits.
The 23rd pair, known as sex chromosomes, determines the sex of the individual.
Sex Chromosomes:
Females have two identical X chromosomes (XX).
Males have one X and one Y chromosome (XY).
Maternal Contribution: During reproduction, the mother always contributes one X
chromosome to the child.
Paternal Contribution and Sex Outcome:The sex of the child is determined by the
chromosome inherited from the father.
If th f th id X h th lti XX i ill d
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If the father provides an X chromosome, the resulting XX pair will produce a girl.
If the father provides a Y chromosome, the resulting XY pair will produce a boy
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