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 8 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.Seedlings from one plant all have the same leaf shape. Is leaf shape inherited or learned?
  • A.Learned from other plants
  • B.Learned from the sunlight
  • C.Inherited from the parent plant
2.A girl can ride a bicycle and her baby brother cannot yet. Why?
  • A.Riding a bicycle is learned by practicing
  • B.She inherited it and he did not
  • C.Babies are too heavy to ride
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.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.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
6.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
7.Which of these could a dog NOT learn from its owner?
  • A.The color of its coat
  • B.Walking beside its owner
  • C.Sitting when told
8.A dog fetches a stick when its owner says "fetch." Is that inherited or learned?
  • A.Neither
  • B.Inherited from its parents
  • C.Learned, through training

LessonPrint · 3-LS3-1 · Set 8 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Passed Down, or Picked Up?

Set 8. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Inherited from the parent plant
  2. 2.Riding a bicycle is learned by practicing
  3. 3.Learned, from hearing it every day
  4. 4.Inherited
  5. 5.Part of the song is learned by hearing other birds
  6. 6.Learned
  7. 7.The color of its coat
  8. 8.Learned, through training

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