Question

With the help of one example for each, distinguish between the acquired traits and the inherited traits. Why are the traits/experiences acquired during the entire lifetime of an individual not inherited in the next generation? Explain the reason for this fact with an example.

Answer 1

Acquired traits are those traits that are developed in a person throughout his life. Inherited traits are those traits that are present in a person from the time of his birth and these traits are passed on from one generation to another generation.

Complete answer:

Acquired traits	Inherited traits
The traits which are developed in a person throughout the entire lifetime are called acquired traits	The traits which are present in a human from the time of his birth are called inherited traits
These traits cannot be passed from one generation to other	These traits are passed on from one generation to other generation
Example- development of muscles, scars, tattoos etc.	Example- hair colour, eye colour, body type, height and some diseases etc.

- Acquired traits are developed because of the interaction with the environment. It can also be the behaviour an organism adapt to survive
- The trait that is acquired during a lifetime like a hairstyle, dressing style, food habits etc. are not inherited in their progeny because these traits die not to cause any effect on DNA or they are not linked to DNA. These traits are acquired by a human due to some environmental factors or for living through his lifetime. These are not present since birth. As these traits are not associated with the DNA of a person hence these are not inherited.

Note: We know that, the Mendel experimented on garden peas and gave several postulates in the field of genetics. Based on his experiment he gave three laws known as Mendel’s law of inheritance. These are the Law of Dominance, the law of segregation, the law of independent assortment.