What is the term for the hereditary factor that is passed from parent to offspring?

The term for the hereditary factor that is passed from parent to offspring is a gene. Genes are the basic units of heredity and are composed of DNA. Each gene contains the instructions for building and maintaining the cells of an organism, and they play a crucial role in determining an individual's traits or characteristics. During reproduction, genes are transmitted from parents to their offspring, which is why they are essential in understanding inheritance and variations in traits.

Chromosomes are structures within cells that contain genes, but they are larger organizational units that comprise many genes. The genome refers to the complete set of genes or genetic material present in an organism, encompassing all its hereditary information. Proteins, while important molecules that perform various functions within organisms, are not hereditary factors themselves; they are the products of gene expression and are synthesized based on the instructions encoded in genes. Thus, the definition and role of a gene make it the correct answer in this context.