Give reasons why acquired characters are not inherited.

Acquired characters are characters that are gained during lifetime and are determined by environmental factors alone. These changes occur in the non-reproductive tissues; these cannot be passed into the DNA of the germ cells. i.e., since the genetic constitution does not determine these traits, they remain confined to the individual only and are never passed from parents to offspring. Hence acquired characters are not inherited.

For example, Weismann experimented with removing tails of 68 white mice, repeatedly over five generations, and reporting that no mice were born in consequence without a tail or even with a shorter tail.