What are examples of discrete traits?
Sarah Cherry
Updated on February 14, 2026
Discrete traits, which are not common in humans, include widow's peak and cleft chin. Certain medical conditions are also discrete, such as cystic fibrosis and Huntington's disease.
What are some examples of discrete variation?
Discrete variation is either/or and is often caused by the presence or absence of a small number if genes. For example, our ability to "roll" our tongues is determined by just one gene. We can all either roll our tongue or not - there's nothing in between.Are human traits discrete?
Discrete traits (as opposed to continuously varying traits such as height) with simple Mendelian inheritance patterns are relatively rare in nature, and many of the clearest examples in humans cause disorders. Discrete traits found in humans are common examples for teaching genetics.What is the difference between a continuous trait and a discrete trait?
Quantitative traits are also called continuous traits, and they stand in contrast to qualitative, or discontinuous, traits that are expressed in the form of distinct phenotypes chosen from a discrete set.Is blood type discrete or continuous trait?
The ABO blood group is another example of a discrete genetic characteristic. In this case there are four possibilities: blood group A, B, AB, or O.What is a trait?-Genetics and Inherited Traits
Is eye color a discrete trait?
Eye color is an example of polygenic inheritance. This trait is thought to be influenced by up to 16 different genes. Eye color inheritance is complicated. It is determined by the amount of the brown color pigment melanin that a person has in the front part of the iris.Is height discrete or continuous?
Height, weight, temperature and length are all examples of continuous data.Is skin color a discrete variation?
Two Kinds of Inherited VariationContinuous variations are differences in characteristics that have a range of possible variations, such as height, shoe size, hand span, skin color, hair color, etc. Discrete variations are differences in characteristics that have a definite form, with a limited number of possibilities.