Genetics is defined as which of the following?

Genetics is defined as which of the following?

• A. The science of evolution
• B. The study of ecosystems
• C. The science of heredity
• D. The scientific approach to genetics

Answer: (C)

Genetics is the science of heredity—the study of how traits are passed from parents to offspring through genes. Traits are carried by genes on chromosomes, copied in DNA, and transmitted through reproductive cells so offspring resemble their parents. This field explores how alleles separate and combine during reproduction, how gene expression shapes traits, and how mutations introduce variation. The other ideas describe related areas—evolution concerns changes in allele frequencies in populations over time, ecosystems study how organisms interact with each other and their environment, and calling genetics merely a “scientific approach” to the field doesn’t define what genetics itself studies.

Genetics is the science of heredity—the study of how traits are passed from parents to offspring through genes. Traits are carried by genes on chromosomes, copied in DNA, and transmitted through reproductive cells so offspring resemble their parents. This field explores how alleles separate and combine during reproduction, how gene expression shapes traits, and how mutations introduce variation. The other ideas describe related areas—evolution concerns changes in allele frequencies in populations over time, ecosystems study how organisms interact with each other and their environment, and calling genetics merely a “scientific approach” to the field doesn’t define what genetics itself studies.