What term is used to describe a person who carries one recessive allele for a trait and one dominant allele?

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The term used to describe an individual who carries one recessive allele and one dominant allele for a particular trait is "heterozygous." In genetics, heterozygous refers to the condition of having two different alleles at a specific gene locus. When one allele is dominant, it can mask the expression of the recessive allele, influencing the individual's phenotype, or observable traits, based on the dominant allele's characteristics.

In contrast, homozygous refers to an individual possessing two identical alleles for a trait, which could be either both dominant or both recessive. Genotype specifically refers to the genetic constitution or makeup of an individual, while phenotype is about the actual physical expression of those genes. Therefore, the scenario described matches the definition of heterozygous precisely, making it the correct choice.

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