Heritability is constrained within which range?

• A. 0-1
• B. -1 to 1
• C. 0-10
• D. -10 to 10

Answer: (A)

Heritability is a measure that quantifies the proportion of variance in a trait that can be attributed to genetic variation among individuals in a population. It ranges from 0 to 1, where 0 indicates that genetic differences do not contribute at all to the observed phenotypic variance, and 1 indicates that all observed variance is due to genetic differences.

This range is significant in understanding how traits are passed from parents to offspring and how much of a trait's expression can be explained by genetic factors as opposed to environmental influences. The values outside 0 to 1 do not make sense in the context of heritability because heritability is expressed as a proportion or fraction, which inherently falls within this defined range. Thus, option A accurately reflects the mathematical and biological principles governing heritability.