Lesson T4.1.1

T4.1.1 Heredity and genetic information Quiz: KS3 Biology, Unit 4

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson T4.1.1, Heredity and genetic information: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 Biology (National Curriculum), Unit 4: Genetics and evolution, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What is heredity?

    • The loss of a limb in an accident on the road at night
    • The change of an organism's habitat over its whole lifetime
    • The breakdown of food in the stomach by strong digestive acids
    • Passing genetic information from parents to offspring

  2. Where is genetic information stored in a human cell?

    • In the vacuole as water
    • In the nucleus, on chromosomes
    • In the cell membrane as proteins only
    • In the cytoplasm as glucose

  3. Which cells carry genetic information from parents to the offspring in sexual reproduction?

    • Skin cells that cover and protect the outside
    • Muscle fibres that contract to move the body
    • Gametes such as sperm and egg cells
    • Red blood cells that carry oxygen around the body

  4. What is a gene?

    • A section of DNA that codes for a particular characteristic
    • A molecule that carries oxygen in the blood around the whole body
    • A chromosome that carries no DNA at all inside the cell nucleus
    • A type of cell used only for sexual reproduction in all animals

  5. Why do brothers and sisters from the same parents often look different?

    • Environment alone creates all of the differences between siblings
    • Siblings always receive the mother's genes only and never the father's
    • Each child gets a different mix of genes from both parents
    • Siblings receive identical genes from only one of their parents

  6. Which human feature is inherited?

    • A scar from a bike accident
    • Natural eye colour
    • A suntan from a summer holiday
    • Muscle strength gained from training

  7. Why do plants grown from cuttings look identical to the parent plant?

    • They are shaped only by sunlight and by the amount of water
    • They develop differently because of the seed coat that surrounds them
    • They are genetically identical to the parent plant
    • They inherit half of their genes from the soil they grow in

  8. In humans, how many chromosomes are in a normal body cell?

    • 46 chromosomes
    • 23 chromosomes
    • 92 chromosomes
    • 48 chromosomes

  9. How many chromosomes does a human gamete contain?

    • 23 chromosomes
    • 12 chromosomes
    • 46 chromosomes
    • 24 chromosomes

  10. Why does a sperm cell carry only half the chromosomes of a body cell?

    • So the sperm can swim faster through the fluid around it
    • So the zygote gets the full number of chromosomes
    • So the sperm can store glucose for the egg cell to use
    • So the sperm can photosynthesise in the female tract too

  11. A child inherits a characteristic from its mother. What carries that information?

    • A vacuole in the egg
    • A gene on a chromosome
    • A flagellum in the zygote
    • A cell wall in the sperm

  12. What does the term genome mean?

    • The entire genetic material of an organism
    • The total mass of all the members of a population
    • The number of offspring a parent produces in its lifetime
    • The outer surface of a cell and its protective membrane

  13. Why is it inaccurate to say that a child is a copy of one parent?

    • A child inherits a mixture of genes from both parents
    • A child is always identical to its father in every single way
    • A child develops from the parent's body only and nothing else
    • A child inherits only genes from the mother's side of the family

  14. Why does each parent contribute one copy of each gene?

    • Each parent contributes two copies of every gene to the zygote each time
    • The mother provides chromosomes and the father provides only genes to it
    • Gametes carry one set of chromosomes, so each parent gives one copy
    • Genes are copied from the cytoplasm into the zygote during early growth

  15. Which of these is an inherited characteristic in dogs?

    • Coat colour
    • Scars from a fight
    • Fur cut short by a groomer
    • Weight gained from overfeeding

  16. A plant has a gene for tall height but grows in poor soil and is short. What explains this?

    • The gene is removed by the poor soil over many growing years
    • The environment also influences the plant's final height
    • Tall genes stop working in poor soil permanently for the plant
    • Genes are only expressed in bright sunlight during the growing season

  17. Which molecule carries the genetic code in living cells?

    • Chlorophyll
    • DNA
    • Cellulose
    • Glucose

  18. Why do offspring sometimes show characteristics not seen in either parent?

    • New gene combinations can produce new versions of a trait
    • Parents always pass on a hidden gene that appears at random
    • Offspring copy the environment of their parent exactly as it is
    • Offspring genes are damaged by strong sunlight during growth

  19. What is passed from a parent to the zygote by the sperm and egg?

    • Cell walls made of cellulose that the zygote builds
    • Genetic information in the nucleus
    • Cytoplasm containing only glucose and water for the cell
    • A complete adult body that grows inside the sperm

  20. Which term describes the passing of genetic information from one generation to the next?

    • Respiration
    • Excretion
    • Photosynthesis
    • Heredity

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