Skip to content
LessonPrint

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

Next set

One paper per student

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425

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.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.Learned
  • C.Inherited
2.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
3.Seedlings from one plant all have the same leaf shape. Is leaf shape inherited or learned?
  • A.Learned from other plants
  • B.Inherited from the parent plant
  • C.Learned from the sunlight
4.A boy has curly hair like his father. Is that inherited or learned?
  • A.Learned at school
  • B.Learned from his father
  • C.Inherited
5.A puppy has floppy ears like its mother. Is that inherited or learned?
  • A.Learned from watching its mother
  • B.Inherited, passed down from its parents
  • C.Learned at puppy classes
6.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
7.Which of these could a dog NOT learn from its owner?
  • A.Sitting when told
  • B.The color of its coat
  • C.Walking beside its owner
8.Young chaffinches raised without hearing other chaffinches sing a simpler song. What does that show?
  • A.Songs are never learned
  • B.Part of the song is learned by hearing other birds
  • C.The birds were unwell

LessonPrint · 3-LS3-1 · Set 21 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Passed Down, or Picked Up?

Set 21. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Learned
  2. 2.Learned, through training
  3. 3.Inherited from the parent plant
  4. 4.Inherited
  5. 5.Inherited, passed down from its parents
  6. 6.A zebra foal's stripes
  7. 7.The color of its coat
  8. 8.Part of the song is learned by hearing other birds

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