What term describes the observable traits of an organism?

The term that describes the observable traits of an organism is referred to as the phenotype. The phenotype encompasses all the physically expressed characteristics and traits that can be seen and measured, such as height, color, shape, and behavior. These traits arise from the interaction of the organism’s genetic makeup, called the genotype, with environmental influences.

The phenotype provides insight into how the genetic instructions are manifested in real-world characteristics. For instance, in plants, the observed flower color or leaf shape is a direct result of the plant's phenotypic expression driven by its underlying genetic information.

Understanding the distinction between genotype and phenotype is essential in genetics. The genotype represents the actual genetic code or set of alleles that an organism carries, which may or may not be expressed as visible traits in the phenotype. Conversely, alleles are specific versions of a gene, and whether an organism is homozygous refers to the presence of two identical alleles for a particular gene. Thus, while genotypes and alleles contribute to the phenotype, it is the phenotype that is concerned solely with the observable traits of the organism.