Genotype describes which of the following?

• A. Genetic makeup
• B. Physical appearance
• C. The environment
• D. A type of cell division

Answer: (A)

Genotype describes the genetic makeup—the specific genes and alleles an organism carries. This set of inherited information can determine what traits are possible for an individual. The visible traits you observe, like height or eye color, are the phenotype, which reflects how the genotype is expressed plus any environmental influences. So, while the genotype is about the genetic code itself, the environment can modify how that code shows up in the organism. It’s not describing the environment or the outward appearance directly, and it isn’t about a cell division process, which is a separate concept related to how genetic material is copied and distributed during reproduction. For example, having certain alleles may make brown eyes more likely, but the actual eye color you see is the phenotype shaped by both those genes and other factors.