Question

What is genetics?

a)the scientific study of heredity
b)the group of organisms that has common traits
c)the inherited characteristics such as height
d)the passing on of physical characteristics

Answer 1

Genetics is a) the scientific study of heredity.

Step-by-step explanation:

For thousands of years, humans have understood that characteristics such as eye color, hair color, or even flower color are passed from one generation to the next. The passing of characteristics from parent to offspring is called heredity. Humans have long been interested in understanding heredity. Many hereditary mechanisms were developed by scholars but were not properly tested or quantified. The scientific study of genetics did not begin until the late 19th century. In experiments with garden peas, Austrian monk Gregor Mendel described the basic patterns of inheritance. Keep in mind that while we know about DNA and its role as the genetic material, Mendel did not know of the existence of DNA. Nor did he understand the concept of the chromosome or the process of meiosis, and yet, he was still able to correctly describe basic inheritance patterns.

Answer 2

Genetics is the scientific study of heredity, based on the foundational work of Johann Gregor Mendel involving genes, alleles, and the rules of inheritance.

Step-by-step explanation:

What is Genetics?

Genetics is the scientific study of heredity. The foundations of this field were laid by Johann Gregor Mendel, long before the discovery of chromosomes or the understanding of meiosis. Genetics involves exploring how traits, which are controlled by genes on chromosomes, are transmitted from parents to their offspring. The basic units of heredity, genes, are replicated, expressed, or mutated, and they exist on chromosomes at specific locations called loci. Different versions of a gene, known as alleles, are responsible for the variation in characteristics observed in organisms.

Through the study of genetics, we seek to understand the laws of inheritance and how certain traits are passed down from one generation to the next. Mendel's experiments with pea plants were crucial in identifying the key principles of heredity, and these principles form the basis of Mendelian genetics. However, not all inheritance follows this Mendelian pattern, and thus the field of genetics also explores non-Mendelian inheritance and genetic disorders.