How do you identify a mysterious fruit?

Traits & Inheritance
4.7 (1272 reviews)
Lesson narration:
English Spanish
Scroll for prep
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DISCUSS (1 of 2):
What traits does the mystery fruit have in common with this lemon?
What traits does the mystery fruit have in common with this bunch of bananas?
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DISCUSS (2 of 2):
Imagine we slice each of these fruits open, like this.
What traits do you observe about these fruits now?
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DISCUSS:
Besides the fruits they grow, what OTHER TRAITS can you observe about these plants?
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Step
01/16
Get your supplies. (You’ll get more supplies later.)
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Step
02/16
You’ll work with a partner.
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Step
03/16
Round 1. Examine the traits of these three fruits.
Answer question 1 on your worksheet.
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Step
04/16
Round 1. Examine the same fruits’ insides, leaves, and flowers.
Discuss your observations with your partner.
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Step
05/16
Discuss.
Then answer question 2 on your worksheet.
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Step
06/16
Round 2. Examine the traits of these three fruits.
Answer question 3 on your worksheet.
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Step
07/16
Round 2. Examine the same fruits’ insides, leaves, and flowers.
Discuss your observations with your partner.
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Step
08/16
Discuss.
Then answer question 4 on your worksheet.
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Step
09/16
Round 3. Examine the traits of these three fruits.
Answer question 5 on your worksheet.
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Step
10/16
Round 3. Examine the same fruits’ insides, leaves, and flowers.
Discuss your observations with your partner.
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Step
11/16
Discuss.
Then answer question 6 on your worksheet.
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Step
12/16
Get the rest of your supplies.
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Step
13/16
Cut along all the dotted lines so that you have a set of cards.
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Step
14/16
Lay out all the cards on the desk in between you and your partner.
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Step
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Challenge: Work with your partner to sort these cards into 5 groups.
The groups don’t have to be equal. You may have some groups with
2 cards and some with 5 cards.
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Step
16/16
Discuss.
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DISCUSS:
Which group would you place the mystery fruit into?
What evidence do you have that it belongs there?
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leaf


1 of 8

a part of a plant that is often flat and green
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seed


2 of 8

a part of a plant that can grow into a baby plant
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fruit


3 of 8

the part of a plant that contains seeds inside a covering, like an apple
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flower


4 of 8

a part of a plant that is usually brightly colored
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trait


5 of 8

something you can observe about a living thing, such as the number of petals on a flower
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inherit


6 of 8

to get a trait from parents
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pattern


7 of 8

something that happens again and again and again in a way that can be predicted
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evidence


8 of 8

information that can be used to support or reject an idea
How do you identify a mysterious fruit?
Traits & Inheritance
4.7 (1272 reviews)

Featured Reviews

“Really enjoyed hands-on activity. Was easy to see what the designer was getting at, and the surprising twists after cross-sectioning the fruit. A great lesson.”
· John · Teacher
“Fantastic lesson! This lesson is a great introduction for kids to explore inherited traits! It's fun and easy for kids to follow.”
· Laurie · Teacher
“This was such a great introduction to the topic. My students were fully engaged and enjoyed the activity! ”
· Elissa · Teacher
“The best part about this lesson is the reinforced partner communication. I loved hearing my students talk with each other about their findings! ”
· · Teacher
“The step by step videos are so helpful. Students enjoyed working groups to "solve the mystery" of the odd looking fruit and what traits it had. They did a good job of understanding what traits were and how different things can have similar traits. This lesson was very low prep but highly interactive. ”
· Elissa · Teacher
“It's great that its interactive and has some preparation. The fruit cards are really great too, because besides the observation skill, you really get to know lots of different fruits. Really great lesson.”
· Lourdes · Homeschooler
“My students enjoyed the engaging collaborative work and step by step guidelines.”
· Rashida · Teacher
“The kids were so easily able to apply what they had learned to the final question of how to sort the mystery fruit. They were so proud of themselves for finding all the traits that the video also mentioned.”
· Beth · Teacher
“It was great to observe all the patterns and notice all the traits they had in common!”
· Alicia · Teacher
Lesson narration:
English Spanish

Activity Prep

Print Prep
This lesson was revised on May 31, 2024. Here is a link to the previous version.
In this lesson, students examine plant traits and use that information as evidence to help them identify an unknown fruit. In the activity, Fruit Market Mysteries, students look for similarities and differences in the leaves, flowers, and fruits of plants found at the grocery store to sort them into groups and identify patterns of inheritance.
Preview activity

Vocabulary

Vocabulary

Student slideshow: English | Spanish

Teacher printout: English & Spanish
Please note: This is a NEW lesson we are BETA testing! If you have a Mystery Pack, you’ll need to gather the supplies listed below. They are NOT included in your Pack.

Not included in your Mystery Pack

Fruit Cards printout
1 per pair
Fruit Cards Answer Key printout
1 per class
Fruit Market Mysteries printout
1 per student
Fruit Market Mysteries Answer Key printout
1 per class
Scissors
1 pair per student
Prep Instructions

We suggest students work in pairs.

Organize Materials

Materials for this activity are needed at two different steps, so we suggest organizing them beforehand for easier distribution.

The Fruit Market Mysteries worksheet is needed in Step 1.

Fruit-Market-Supply-Step1

The Fruit Cards and scissors are then needed in Step 12.

Fruit-Market-Supply-Step12

Standards

Jump to

Exploration

10 mins

Hands-On Activity

35 mins

Wrap-Up

10 mins

Extend this lesson

Unit Reading

Unit Reading

The Scientists of Lizard Island

In this reading, scientists learn about how scientists studied what happened when new brown anoles were introduced to an island inhabited by green anoles.

Mini-lessons

Mini-lessons

You can elaborate student learning and engagement with Mystery Science mini-lessons.

  • Why are pumpkins orange? In this mini-lesson students learn how inheritance and trait variation can help to explain a pumpkin’s orange color.

If you are in an NGSS state, this mini-lesson supports the DCI LS3.A: Inheritance of Traits

Mystery Science Activity

Mystery Science Activity

Apple Taste Test

You explored traits of leaves, flowers, and fruits, but the taste of a fruit is also a trait! In this Mystery Science extension activity, you and your students can sample different apples to explore their taste traits.

You can find a list of supplies, a worksheet, and instructions here!

Transcripts

Download this Lesson to your device so you can play it offline:
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Selection Lesson 1: How do you identify a mysterious fruit?

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