Interactive Biology Tool

Explore the Science of
Genetic Inheritance

Simulate how physical traits pass from parents to children using Gregor Mendel's foundational laws of genetics.

Start Simulating Learn More

Explore Traits

Choose a Trait to Simulate

Select any trait below to open the inheritance simulator and generate possible offspring outcomes.

Eye Color

Brown, blue, green, hazel & more

Blood Types

ABO & Rh factor inheritance

Skin Color

Polygenic melanin expression

Height

Estimated offspring height range

Hair Color

Black, brown, blonde, red & more

Background

What is Mendelian Genetics?

The Science

Mendelian genetics is the study of how traits are inherited from one generation to the next, based on the groundbreaking work of Gregor Mendel in the 1860s. Mendel discovered that traits are passed on through discrete units now called alleles.

Each individual carries two alleles for most traits — one inherited from each parent. Alleles can be dominant (expressed even with one copy) or recessive (only expressed when two copies are present).

This simulator lets you explore how different allele combinations produce variation in offspring across five real human traits.

Diagram illustrating Mendelian inheritance principles

How to Use the Simulator

1

Pick a trait from the card grid above (e.g. Eye Color or Blood Types).

2

Select the genetic alleles (or phenotype) for each parent using the dropdowns.

3

Choose how many children to simulate (1–12).

4

Click Calculate Offspring to see randomly generated results and a Punnett square.

5

Re-run as many times as you like — each run produces a new random sample from the possible outcomes.

Traits Covered

Eye Color — multi-gene trait; brown dominates blue and green.
Blood Types — ABO codominance + Rh factor.
Skin Color — polygenic; result of multiple melanin genes.
Height — influenced by many genes and environment.
Hair Color — dark shades tend to be dominant over light.