The number of contrasting characters studied by Mendel for his experiments was:

Options

A. 14
B. 4
C. 2
D. 7

Answer

To determine the number of contrasting characters studied by Gregor Mendel in his experiments, we can follow these steps:

### Step-by-Step Solution:

1. **Understanding the Term "Character":**
- In genetics, a "character" refers to a visible phenotype or trait that can be observed in an organism.

2. **Contrasting Traits:**
- Each character is represented by two contrasting traits. For example, in the case of plant height, the contrasting traits would be "tall" and "short."

3. **Identifying Mendel's Characters:**
- Mendel conducted experiments on pea plants and identified several characters. The key characters he studied include:
- Height (tall vs. short)
- Pod shape (inflated vs. constricted)
- Flower color (purple vs. white)
- Flower position (axial vs. terminal)
- Pod color (green vs. yellow)
- Seed shape (round vs. wrinkled)
- Seed color (yellow vs. green)

4. **Counting the Characters:**
- By listing the characters, we find that Mendel studied a total of **7 contrasting characters** in his experiments.

5. **Conclusion:**
- Therefore, the number of contrasting characters studied by Mendel for his experiments was **7**.

### Final Answer:
The number of contrasting characters studied by Mendel for his experiments was **7**.