What does the term 'phenotype frequency' describe?

Phenotype frequency refers to the proportion of a specific phenotype within a population. This concept helps quantify how common or rare a particular trait or characteristic is among the individuals of that population. For example, if you were studying a population of flowers and there are red, white, and pink flowers, the phenotype frequency would express how many of each color flower exists compared to the total number of flowers observed.

Understanding phenotype frequency is crucial in studies of genetics and evolution, as it can provide insight into how certain traits are distributed in a population and how they may change over generations due to environmental pressures or genetic drift. This can further relate to natural selection, where certain phenotypes may offer reproductive advantages, leading to changes in their frequencies in subsequent generations.