Earlobes

Yes, earlobes. In our recent lab we had to construct an earlobe pedigree showing whether members of our family have attached (B) or detached (A) earlobes. It is supposed to help us learn about how traits are passed from one generation to the next. Our pedigree is shown on the right.
During this lab we learned about how genetic traits are passed from one generation to another. Every trait is represented by two alleles, which are the sequences of DNA that show whether a person has that trait. One allele is contributed by each of your parents. Alleles can either be dominant or recessive. If both of the alleles are dominant or only one is dominant then that person has the dominant trait, in our example this would be unattached earlobes. However, both alleles would have to be recessive to have the recessive trait, in our example attached earlobes (like mine).