What is the term for the physical characteristics of an organism?

The term for the physical characteristics of an organism is phenotype. The phenotype encompasses all observable traits and features of an organism, such as height, eye color, and blood type, that arise from the interaction of its genotype with the environment. Essentially, the phenotype is the manifestation of the genetic code (genotype) influenced by environmental factors.

Understanding phenotype is crucial in fields such as genetics, biology, and medicine, as it provides insight into how organisms adapt and exhibit variations in their traits. In contrast, genotype refers specifically to the genetic makeup of an organism, alleles are variations of a gene, and traits can describe individual characteristics but do not encompass the entirety of physical appearance as phenotype does.