Introduction:
In science class, we’ve been exploring Punnett Squares, which are typically used in Year 11. To get a head start for next year, we decided to make our learning more fun by creating zombies using these squares. This project allowed us to mix and match traits like skin colour, hair type, and abilities to design unique zombies.
Below me is the result of how this outcome came to be.
Method:
The method we used was:
- Picking the parents’ alleles.
This involved looking at traits like eye colour or height. We first identified the alleles each parent had, which are the different forms of genes that come from the mom and dad. Then, we used a Punnett square to see how these alleles could combine in their offspring, helping us predict what traits the zombies might have. It was a fun way to learn about how genetics works!
2. What were the different alleles?
Well, as you can see in the photo, we had many alleles. Such as Skin Colour, Hair, Limb Count, Clothing, Teeth, and a Weapon.
3. How did you decide the traits the zombie had?
It was almost completely randomised. So let’s get an example…
See the skin colour? Well, if you look at the Gene part below. You will end up seeing my writing saying S = Green and s = Normal Skin Colour. With the Punnett Square, I randomly selected where to put the two S’s. And from there, used the rules of a normal Punnett Square to figure out our result!
Results?
The result I got out looked amazing in my opinion. (Especially with my amazing drawing)
Using all the results from my Punnett Squares, we were then tasked with the opportunity to draw our zombie, and design it how it was made to turn out!
Conclusion!
In conclusion, making a zombie using Punnett Squares was a fun and cool project! Our final zombie had some wild traits: green skin, a mix of long hair and a mullet, three limbs, ripped clothes, bad teeth, and it could use both a bite and an infection as weapons. The results were awesome and showed us how genes can mix in surprising ways. However, we could have tried different combinations of traits to create even more unique zombies. For example, if we had picked different alleles for skin colour or hair type, our zombies could have looked totally different—maybe with bright colours or normal hairstyles. Overall, this project helped us learn about genetics while letting us be creative and have fun imagining our own zombies!