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Have you ever wondered why you look like your parents or how new species come to exist? The NCERT Class 10 Science Chapter 8 Notes Heredity help you get these answers in a simple way. These notes cover how traits are passed down, what genes do, and how evolution happens over time. With easy language, neat diagrams, and short points, you can go through NCERT Notes without feeling confused or stressed.
These NCERT Notes for Class 10 Science explain Mendel’s experiments, dominant and recessive traits, and Darwin’s ideas in a step-by-step style. There are diagram suggestions and small answer-writing tips added, so students know what to include in exams. Everything follows the NCERT book, so no important topic is missed. These NCERT Notes of Class 10 will help them get your basics clear about heredity and evolution, and give them the confidence to handle related questions easily.
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This chapter helps you understand how traits are passed from parents to offspring and why we look similar or different from our family members. The notes are written in a simple way to make revision faster and easier. You can now download the NCERT Class 10 Science Chapter 8 Notes Heredity PDF for clear and quick exam preparation.
It is amazing to think that the colour of your eyes or the shape of your nose is linked to traits passed down for generations. NCERT Class 10 Science Chapter 8 explains Heredity, showing how traits move from parents to children and how species slowly change over time. This chapter also discusses how variations help organisms survive in changing environments. Understanding these ideas builds a strong base for biology and future genetics studies. Heredity explains how traits are passed from parents to their children. Evolution explains how living things change slowly over time. Together, these concepts help us understand the variety of living beings around us and how they adapt to survive.
Reproduction results in the formation of new individuals that resemble their parents but also possess certain differences, which are known as variations.
Over successive generations, the accumulation of these variations supports the survival of individuals better adapted to changing environments. This accumulation is an important factor in the process of evolution.
Heredity refers to the transfer of characters and traits from one generation to the next. It ensures the maintenance of the basic structural design of a species while also introducing differences within populations.
An inherited trait is any characteristic passed from parents to offspring, such as eye colour or height. A child inherits half of its genetic material from the mother and half from the father. Therefore, each trait is controlled by two copies of genes, one from each parent.
Gregor Johann Mendel conducted experiments on garden pea plants to study the pattern of inheritance. For example, when he crossed tall and short pea plants:
Genes are sections of DNA which carry information for specific traits. They control the synthesis of proteins in cells, which in turn determine the features of an organism. Genes are located on thread-like structures known as chromosomes present in the cell nucleus.
Genes guide the formation of specific proteins, which produce hormones or enzymes controlling particular traits. For example, the gene for plant height influences the production of growth hormones. If the gene functions properly, normal growth takes place. If the gene changes, the hormone may be less effective, leading to a shorter plant. Thus, genes directly control the expression of traits.
Sex determination refers to the process by which the sex of a child is decided. In humans:
Evolution is the gradual process through which living organisms change over time to form new species.
Points to Remember
Subject-Wise NCERT Solutions
Some of the questions which have come in past years from the chapter are given below:
Question 1. Changes accumulated and cause organisms to get divide into sub-populations can be due to
Option 1. Evolution
Option 2. Natural selection
Option 3. Genetic drift
Option 4. (1), (2) and (3)
Answer :
Speciation is derived from evolution. Over the generations, the genetic drift accumulates different changes in each subpopulation. Also, natural selection may operate differently in these geographic locations.
Hence, the correct options are (4) (1), (2) and (3)
Question 2. Speciation is
Option 1. Origin of the new population
Option 2. Origin of a new individual
Option 3. Origin of existing species
Option 4. Origin of new species
Answer :
The origin of new species from the existing ones is referred to as Speciation.
Hence, the correct option is (4) Origin of new species
Question 3.
Read the following statement and select the correct option
Humans have travelled back and forth to
1. separate from each other
2. Mix with each other
3. Live their best lives
Option 1. 2, 3
Option 2. 1 , 2 , 3
Option 3. Only 1
Option 4. Only 2
Answer :
Humans travelled forward and backwards, sometimes separating and sometimes coming back to mix. Like all other species on the planet, they had come into being as an accident of evolution and were trying to live their lives the best they could.
Hence, the correct option is (2) 1 , 2 , 3
Given below are the chapter-wise links of class 10 notes:
Heredity is the biological process through which parents pass their traits and characteristics to their offspring, ensuring continuity of features across generations.
Gregor Mendel was a scientist who studied inheritance using garden pea plants. His experiments helped discover the basic laws of inheritance, such as dominant and recessive traits, which form the foundation of genetics.
Alleles are different forms of a gene that determine specific traits, such as tall or dwarf height in pea plants. The combination of alleles inherited from parents influences the traits expressed in offspring.
Inherited traits are characteristics passed directly from parents to offspring, while variations are subtle differences that arise due to genetic changes or environmental factors, contributing to diversity within a species.
Heredity explains how traits are transmitted, while evolution studies how these traits change over generations due to variations and natural selection, leading to the development of new species.
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