The genetic material that carries information is

• A. DNA
• B. RNA
• C. Chromosome
• D. Protein

Answer: (A)

The information that determines inherited traits is stored in the sequence of nucleotides in DNA. This long molecule passes from parents to offspring and is replicated so the instructions for making proteins and RNA are preserved across generations. Genes are specific DNA sequences that encode those instructions, which the cell uses to produce the molecules that carry out its functions. RNA can serve as an intermediary in expressing those instructions and, in some organisms, can be the genetic material itself, but in most cellular life the hereditary information resides in DNA. A chromosome is simply a structural package of DNA, not the information itself, and proteins do not store genetic information.