Which term describes the physical expression of a trait?

• A. Genotype
• B. Allele
• C. Phenotype
• D. Gene

Answer: (C)

The observable outcome of a trait is called the phenotype. This includes the physical appearance and measurable characteristics you can see or quantify, such as height, eye color, or presence of freckles. The question points to what is physically expressed, so phenotype is the term that captures that outward expression.

Genotype refers to the actual genetic makeup—the specific alleles an individual carries. An allele is a variant form of a gene, which can influence traits but is not itself the visible trait. A gene is the basic unit of heredity that encodes instructions for making a product that can influence traits, but the gene by itself is not the trait you observe.