← All Biology questions  |  All subjects
H1 Biology 8876 · Nov 2023BiologyPaper 1Commented

Paper 1 Q21 — What counts as a phenotype

Genetics — phenotype is any observable characteristic, by any method

What the examiners said

“Candidates frequently did not consider that any description of the observable results of gene expression are regarded as descriptions of phenotypes. An observable result is a result that can be observed by any method.”

Try the question

Which of these is not a phenotype?
Examiner report: “Candidates did not accept that observable-by-any-method results of gene expression are phenotypes.”

Explore — genotype or phenotype?

Sort each item. Anything that is the genetic information itself is genotype; any observable outcome of its expression — even one needing a lab test — is phenotype.

The dividing line: is it the genetic information (genotype) or an observable outcome of expressing it (phenotype)? ‘Observable’ includes anything a test can reveal.

Original reconstruction inspired by the misconceptions described in the Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-Level H1 Biology 8876 November 2023 Examiner Report. Not the actual examination question. For classroom exploration.

Made by lookang, using Claude Fable 5. More resources: iwant2study.org