What term describes the portion of a trait that can be explained by genetic factors?

• A. Heritability
• B. Genotype
• C. Phenotype
• D. Heredity

Answer: (A)

Heritability measures how much of the variation in a trait among individuals in a population is due to genetic differences. It’s a proportion (0 to 1) that reflects the genetic contribution to observed differences, and it depends on the specific population and environment being studied. It’s not about a single person or about genes alone in an individual. Even with high heritability, environment can still influence outcomes, and low heritability doesn’t mean a trait isn’t influenced by genes—it just means genetics explain less of the variation in that context.

Genotype refers to the actual genetic makeup of an individual. Phenotype is the observable trait itself. Heredity is the process by which traits are passed from parents to offspring.

So, the term describing the portion of a trait explained by genetic factors is heritability.