An allele that produces the same phenotype whether paired with an identical or different allele is called what?

• A. Gene
• B. Trait
• C. Recessive allele
• D. Dominant allele

Answer: (D)

Dominance describes this pattern: an allele that determines the trait whether the organism has two copies (homozygous) or just one copy (heterozygous). When a dominant allele is present, it masks the effect of the other allele, so AA and Aa produce the same phenotype. That’s why this allele is called the dominant allele. A gene is the unit of inheritance, a trait is the observable characteristic, and a recessive allele would only show its trait when paired with another recessive allele (aa).