Are an organism's characteristics determined only by its genes? Explain.
Yes, an organism's characteristics are determined only by It's genes becuase the parents give their offspring genes which determines their characteristics.
Is my answer correct? Do I need to expand on that more? If so, what else could I explain? Thanks for your help.
First the word characteristics would have to be clearly defined. If a person loses a leg in an accident, it has nothing to do with genetics, but certainly it is a characteristic he has. Generally speaking every living organism is a product of its genetics and its environment. In other words, if you have a genetically healthy baby rabbit, and don't feed it properly, it doesn't grow up to be a healthy looking rabbit.
1 answer
So, to answer your question, an organism's characteristics are determined by its genes, but the environment in which it lives can also have an effect on the expression of those genes.