Family Pedigrees (Edexcel IGCSE Biology)

Revision Note

Lára

Author

Lára

Last updated

Family Pedigrees

  • Family pedigree diagrams are usually used to trace the pattern of inheritance of a specific characteristic (usually a disease) through generations of a family
  • This can be used to work out the probability that someone in the family will inherit the genetic disorder

Interpreting a family pedigrees

  • Males are indicated by the square shape and females are represented by circles
  • Affected individuals are red and unaffected are blue
  • Horizontal lines between males and females show that they have produced children (which are shown underneath each couple)
  • The family pedigree below shows:
    • both males and females are affected
    • every generation has affected individuals
    • one family group that has no affected parents or children
    • the other two families have one affected parent and affected children as well

Family pedigree chart, IGCSE & GCSE Biology revision notes

A family pedigree chart

You've read 0 of your 10 free revision notes

Unlock more, it's free!

Join the 100,000+ Students that ❤️ Save My Exams

the (exam) results speak for themselves:

Did this page help you?

Lára

Author: Lára

Expertise: Biology Lead

Lára graduated from Oxford University in Biological Sciences and has now been a science tutor working in the UK for several years. Lára has a particular interest in the area of infectious disease and epidemiology, and enjoys creating original educational materials that develop confidence and facilitate learning.