Vinay uses data from his study to estimate that the heritability of athletic ability is 0.60. This implies that about 60%:
A) of the variation in athletic ability is due to genetics.
B) of the variation in athletic ability is due to environment.
C) of people are athletic.
D) of people are not athletic.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The heritability of a trait refers to the proportion of variation in that trait that is due to genetics within a certain population. In this case, Vinay's estimate of the heritability of athletic ability being 0.60 means that 60% of the variability in athletic ability within the studied population is due to genetics. Therefore, Choice A) is the correct answer. Choice B) would be true if the heritability estimate was low, indicating that most of the variation in athletic ability was due to environmental factors. However, this is not the case here. Choices C) and D) are not necessarily related to the heritability estimate, and are therefore incorrect.

Vinay Uses Data from His Study to Estimate That the Heritability