The passing of traits from parents to offspring is called heredity.

What heredity means

Heredity is the biological process through which physical and sometimes behavioral characteristics are transmitted from parents to their children through genes. These traits can include features like eye color, hair type, height, and certain disease risks that are encoded in DNA.

How traits are passed

Traits are carried on genes, which are segments of DNA located on chromosomes inside cells. During reproduction, offspring receive genetic material from one or both parents, so their inherited traits are a mix of parental characteristics rather than an exact copy (except in many forms of asexual reproduction).

Heredity and genetics

The scientific study of heredity is called genetics, which focuses on how genes, alleles, and chromosomes determine observable traits. Genetics also explains patterns such as why some traits are dominant or recessive and why family members often resemble each other.

TL;DR: The passing of traits from parents to offspring is called heredity , and the science that studies it is genetics.