The inherited factors that are transmitted across generations are collectively referred to as its

• A. DNA
• B. Genotype
• C. RNA
• D. Chromosomes

Answer: (B)

Heredity is about the genetic makeup an organism inherits from its parents, which is its genotype. The genotype refers to the complete set of genes and their variants that an individual inherits, representing the inherited factors that can be passed on to offspring. DNA is the molecule that carries those genes, so it is the material, not the collection of factors itself. RNA plays a role in reading and expressing genetic information, not in describing what gets transmitted across generations. Chromosomes are the structures that organize and carry the DNA, but they are carriers of the information rather than the inherited factors themselves. So the term that best describes the collection of inherited factors passed down is the genotype, the organism’s genetic constitution.