Final answer:
The phenotype of an organism refers to its observable traits, which result from the expression of its genotype. Genotype contains the genetic information that determines these traits, which can be seen through Mendel's pea plant experiments.
Step-by-step explanation:
The phenotype of an organism is the physical appearance resulting from the expression of the genes present. This encompasses a range of observable characteristics or traits such as color, structural morphology, and other physical attributes. The phenotype can be thought of as the physical or biochemical manifestation of an organism's underlying genetic makeup, which is known as its genotype. While phenotype is what can be seen on the outside, genotype is like a recipe that determines these observable traits.
Mendel's experiments with pea plants illustrate the difference between genotype and phenotype. For instance, when a pea plant with yellow pods (dominant trait) is crossed with one having green pods (recessive trait), the offspring might all have yellow pods, exhibiting the phenotype of the yellow-podded parent even though their genotypes contain the genetic information for both yellow and green pods.