Minecraft Genetics: Sheep Wool Color and

Mendelian Inheritance

Goal
:UnderstandhowGregorMendelspeaplantexperimentsledhimtogeneratethebasic
lawsofgeneticinheritance.UsingMinecraftEDU,explorepatternsofwoolcolorinheritancein
sheep(asMendeldidwithpeaplants),andusetheresults(colorsgeneratedandtheir
proportions)towriteMinecraftsInheritanceLaws.

Time
:40minutes

Materials
:Computersorlaptops,MinecraftEDU,GoogleSpreadsheets,Whiteboardor
smartboard(ifrecordingdatabyhandinadditiontodigitallyinexcel)

Procedure
:
1. Askthestudentstoexaminethreeoftheirphysicaltraits:eyecolor,tonguerolling,and
fingernumber.Recordthenumberofstudentsintheclasswhoreporteachallele
withinthetraits.Askthestudents:doeseachofthesetraitshavethesameamountof
variety?Answer:No!Thissuggeststheremaybedifferentrulesforhowthesetraitsare
inheritedfromourparents.Today,weregoingtobeconductinganexperimentto
determinetherulesbehindsheepwoolcolorinMinecraft.
2. Dividestudentsinto5or6groupsof45studentseach.
3. HavethemopenMinecraftEDUontheircomputers(onepergroup)andcreateapen
withtwosheepasdescribedintheblog(sheepshouldbesamecolor).
a. InExcelorGoogleSpreadsheets,createasheetlabeled_____x_____:Step
3,inwhichtheblanksarefilledwiththecolorsofthetwoparentsheep.(For
example,RedxRed:Step3).
b. Havethesheepproduceanoffspring,andrecordthecoloroftheoffspring.
Repeatthisseventimes,recordingthecolorofall8offspring.Torecordthe
data,createacolumnonyoursheetfrom3.a.labeledOffspringColor,and
recordthenumberofoffspringofeachcolorinthiscolumn.
4. Havestudentscreateanotherpenwithtwosheeponeofthesamecolororiginallyused
instep3,andoneofadifferentcolor.
a. InthesameExcelorGoogleSpreadsheetsworkbook,createasheetlabeled
_____x_____:Step4,inwhichtheblanksarefilledwiththecolorsofthetwo
parentsheep.(Forexample,RedxBlue:Step4).

b. Havethesheepproduceanoffspring,andrecordthecoloroftheoffspring.
Repeatthisseventimes,recordingthecolorofall8offspring.Recorddataon
yourStep4Sheetinthesamewayasdescribedin3.b.
5. Createanotherpenwithtwosheepofanytwocolors.
a. InthesameExcelorGoogleSpreadsheetsworkbook,createasheetlabeled
_____x_____:Step5,inwhichtheblanksarefilledwiththecolorsofthetwo
parentsheep.(Forexample,GreenxOrange:Step5).Wellrefertothis
generationasP.
b. Havethesheepproduce8offspring,recordingthecolorsofeachlikeyouve
doneinsteps3and4.WellrefertothisgenerationasF1.
c. Matetwoofthe8offspring,recordingthecolorsoftheiroffspring.Wellreferto
thisgenerationasF2.RepeatatleasttwomoretimeswithotherF1offspring,
recordingthecolorsofthenewsheepproduced.
6. Oneachsheet,havestudentscalculatetheratiosofeachwoolcolorproduced(eg.3red
:4orange:1yellow).Converttheseratiosintopercentages,andrecordonthe
spreadsheet.
7. IfthestudentsaremakingseparateExcelorGooglespreadsheets,havethemshare
theirsheetswithoneanother.TheexperimentcanalsobesetupwithasingleGoogle
spreadsheetthewholeclasscanviewandaddindividualsheetsto.

HomeworkQuestions
:
1. Inaparagraph,brieflysummarizethecrossesyoudidinSteps3,4,and5,includingthe
resultingcolorratios.
2. Reviewtheresultsfromothercrossesinyourclass.Didtheratiosandpercentages
changedependingonthewoolcolor?
3. Readdefinitionsofthewords:gene,allele,phenotype,dominant,recessive,incomplete
dominance,homozygous,andheterozygous.Writedownwhateachoftheseterms
mightrefertoinoursimulation.(Asanexample,thegeneinoursimulationissheep
woolcolor).
4. Doestheinheritanceofsheepwoolcolorappeartofollowanyrules?Writedownthese
rules,usingtheterminologyabovewhenappropriate.Foreachrule,referencethename
ofthesheetcontainingthedatathatledyoutothisconclusion.(eg.Blackwoolcoloris
dominantovergreenwoolcolorGroup3Blackvs.Green:Step4).
5. Whydidwerepeatthebreedingsmultipletimestogenerateoffspring?