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Passed Down, or Picked Up? is a free printable Grade 3 science worksheet on using evidence to tell traits passed down from parents from things learned, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 3-LS3-1. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 11 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Passed Down, or Picked Up?

3-LS3-1

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.How could you find out whether a behavior is learned?
  • A.See whether animals that were never shown it can still do it
  • B.Ask the animal
  • C.Weigh the animal
2.A dog fetches a stick when its owner says "fetch." Is that inherited or learned?
  • A.Inherited from its parents
  • B.Learned, through training
  • C.Neither
3.A child speaks the language her family speaks at home. Is that inherited or learned?
  • A.Learned, from hearing it every day
  • B.Neither
  • C.Inherited, like eye color
4.Which of these could a dog NOT learn from its owner?
  • A.Walking beside its owner
  • B.The color of its coat
  • C.Sitting when told
5.A puppy has floppy ears like its mother. Is that inherited or learned?
  • A.Learned at puppy classes
  • B.Inherited, passed down from its parents
  • C.Learned from watching its mother
6.A girl can ride a bicycle and her baby brother cannot yet. Why?
  • A.Riding a bicycle is learned by practicing
  • B.Babies are too heavy to ride
  • C.She inherited it and he did not
7.Young chaffinches raised without hearing other chaffinches sing a simpler song. What does that show?
  • A.Songs are never learned
  • B.The birds were unwell
  • C.Part of the song is learned by hearing other birds
8.Which of these is inherited rather than learned?
  • A.A zebra foal's stripes
  • B.A horse jumping a fence
  • C.A parrot saying hello

LessonPrint · 3-LS3-1 · Set 11 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Passed Down, or Picked Up?

Set 11. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.See whether animals that were never shown it can still do it
  2. 2.Learned, through training
  3. 3.Learned, from hearing it every day
  4. 4.The color of its coat
  5. 5.Inherited, passed down from its parents
  6. 6.Riding a bicycle is learned by practicing
  7. 7.Part of the song is learned by hearing other birds
  8. 8.A zebra foal's stripes

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 3-LS3-1 of the Next Generation Science Standards.