A blend of inherited and acquired characteristics shows

1. Analyze the question The question asks what term describes a blend (mixture) of inherited characteristics (from parents, through genes) and acquired characteristics (gained during life through environment, e.g. scars, muscle size, skills).

2. Explain the concept

• Inheritance / heredity: the passing of genetic traits from parents to offspring. These cover only inherited traits, not acquired ones.
• Evolution: the gradual change in populations over many generations. It is not a description of an individual's traits.
• Variation: the differences among individuals of the same species. These differences come from two sources: • Genetic (inherited) factors, such as blood group and eye colour. • Environmental (acquired) factors, such as body weight affected by diet, or skin tone affected by sun exposure.

Most observable differences between organisms are a combination of both. For example, height depends on inherited genes and on nutrition.

3. Solution

• B (inheritance) and D (heredity) involve only genetic transmission, so they do not include acquired traits.
• C (evolution) is a long-term process, not a blend of traits.
• A (variation) is the term that covers both inherited and acquired differences among organisms.

4. Answer The correct option is **A.

5. Exam tip Remember: Variation = Heredity + Environment. If a question mentions both inherited and acquired (environmental) factors together, think "variation".