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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 19 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.Which of these is inherited rather than learned?
  • A.A parrot saying hello
  • B.A horse jumping a fence
  • C.A zebra foal's stripes
2.A boy has curly hair like his father. Is that inherited or learned?
  • A.Learned at school
  • B.Inherited
  • C.Learned from his father
3.A puppy has floppy ears like its mother. Is that inherited or learned?
  • A.Learned at puppy classes
  • B.Learned from watching its mother
  • C.Inherited, passed down from its parents
4.A young chimpanzee learns to crack nuts with a stone by watching its mother. What kind of characteristic is that?
  • A.Part of its body
  • B.Inherited
  • C.Learned
5.A girl can ride a bicycle and her baby brother cannot yet. Why?
  • A.Babies are too heavy to ride
  • B.She inherited it and he did not
  • C.Riding a bicycle is learned by practicing
6.Young chaffinches raised without hearing other chaffinches sing a simpler song. What does that show?
  • A.The birds were unwell
  • B.Songs are never learned
  • C.Part of the song is learned by hearing other birds
7.How could you find out whether a behavior is learned?
  • A.Ask the animal
  • B.See whether animals that were never shown it can still do it
  • C.Weigh the animal
8.Which of these could a dog NOT learn from its owner?
  • A.Sitting when told
  • B.Walking beside its owner
  • C.The color of its coat

LessonPrint · 3-LS3-1 · Set 19 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Passed Down, or Picked Up?

Set 19. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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