What Environmental Factors Affect Phenotypes

Introduction Our phenotype is determined by the genotype, which is the genetic makeup of a particular organism. The phenotype is visible amongst the physical appearance of the organism. However, the genotype of the organism is not the only factor that affects the organism’s phenotype because there is a distinction between simple traits and complex traits. While simple traits represent that genes directly affect the phenotype, complex traits include the influence of various environmental factors that affect the genotype, which is revealed in the organism’s phenotype. Some of these environmental factors include the access to diet, nutrition, hormone therapy, various diseases, exposure to light, physical activities, geographical location, climate, and lifestyle.

In this project, we investigated how several environmental factors and genotype affect our phenotype. In the lab, we examined and surveyed several students to determine whether or not several variables such as parent height have an effect on student height. In addition, we examined whether the environment the students are exposed to such as geographical location and latitude affects our body proportions and whether our grip strength is affected by the length of our upper body.

Predictions

The Height of the students will be correlated with their parent’s height because of the

The students’ height was measured in centimeters by using a measuring tape. The heights of the parents were also recorded in centimeters. The seated height of the students was recorded in centimeters by using a measuring tape whilst the subject sat on a chair. The students’ forearm length was also measured up to the students’ wrists by using a measuring tape and recorded in centimeters. In addition, the latitude of the subjects was recorded in degrees. Lastly, the grip strength of the students was recorded in kilograms by using a handgrip