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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 20 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.Weigh the animal
  • B.See whether animals that were never shown it can still do it
  • C.Ask the animal
2.A girl can ride a bicycle and her baby brother cannot yet. Why?
  • A.Babies are too heavy to ride
  • B.Riding a bicycle is learned by practicing
  • C.She inherited it and he did not
3.Which of these is inherited rather than learned?
  • A.A horse jumping a fence
  • B.A parrot saying hello
  • C.A zebra foal's stripes
4.A child speaks the language her family speaks at home. Is that inherited or learned?
  • A.Neither
  • B.Learned, from hearing it every day
  • C.Inherited, like eye color
5.A dog fetches a stick when its owner says "fetch." Is that inherited or learned?
  • A.Learned, through training
  • B.Neither
  • C.Inherited from its parents
6.Seedlings from one plant all have the same leaf shape. Is leaf shape inherited or learned?
  • A.Inherited from the parent plant
  • B.Learned from the sunlight
  • C.Learned from other plants
7.Young chaffinches raised without hearing other chaffinches sing a simpler song. What does that show?
  • A.Part of the song is learned by hearing other birds
  • B.Songs are never learned
  • C.The birds were unwell
8.A boy has curly hair like his father. Is that inherited or learned?
  • A.Inherited
  • B.Learned from his father
  • C.Learned at school

LessonPrint · 3-LS3-1 · Set 20 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Passed Down, or Picked Up?

Set 20. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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