Welcome back to another blog post, Maple Learn enthusiasts! Today we’re going to go through a concept and see what documents are available to help you learn the concept. What concept? Blood typing!

You may have gotten your blood tested before, but do you know the science behind blood types? Have you ever thought about it, even? Well, if not, you’re in the right place! Let’s take a look at some of the concepts you need to know before looking deeper into blood typing.

First, what are genotypes and phenotypes? Did you notice those terms had links attached to them? We have Maple Learn documents on this topic, shown below. Take a moment to read them over before we continue, but to summarize: A genotype is the genetic makeup within a trait, whereas a phenotype is the displayed trait. Another important term to recognize is allele – the specific variations of genes that are involved in the genotype.

The next thing to review is Punnett Squares, and the document is also shown below. Review this one too, to learn how to examine genetic combinations! Take a good look at the tables being used, as well, as an example of a creative use of a typically mathematical feature.

Now let’s finally dig into the blood types. Humans have 4 different blood types (excluding the Rhesus factor – but we won’t be talking about that today): A, B, AB, and O. A and B alleles are represented with an “I” with a superscript A or B, respectively. O is represented with “i”. Remember, a full genotype has two alleles, so someone with the blood type O would be represented as “ii” in their genotype. Can you read the Punnett Square below?

To extend your learning, take a look at our blood typing quiz! This quiz allows you to practice making Punnett Squares on paper, in order to figure out the likelihood of a phenotype (the blood type) given the genotype of the parents.

We hope you enjoyed the concept walkthrough! Please let us know if there are any other concepts you’d like to see explained through Maple Learn documents. Until next time!