Question

‘Phenotype’ refers to ___ .

• A. the genetic makeup of an organism
• B. the physical expression of a trait
• C. a condition wherein both the alleles of a gene are similar
• D. the specific position of a gene on a chromosome

Answer 1

The correct option is B

the physical expression of a trait

Phenotype refers to the observable characteristics of an organism, for example, hair colour, eye colour, etc. are all phenotypic characters of organisms. The genetic makeup of an organism is called genotype. The genotype of two individuals expressing the same traits may differ because the individuals can be homozygous dominant or heterozygous dominant. For eg., if we are to consider the character height, where tallness is dominant over shortness, individuals having the alleles (TT) and (Tt) would both express the phenotype- tallness, even though their genotypes differ.