What term refers to a member of a pair of genes?

The term that refers to a member of a pair of genes is "alleles." Alleles are different versions of a gene that arise by mutation and are found at the same place on a chromosome. For example, a gene that determines flower color might have one allele for red flowers and another allele for white flowers. When an organism inherits one allele from each parent, these two alleles can be either the same (homozygous) or different (heterozygous), influencing the organism's phenotype or observable characteristics.

Chromosomes are structures within cells that contain a person's genes, but they represent the larger units of genetic information and are not specific to individual genes. The term "genotype" refers to the genetic constitution of an individual, including both alleles for each gene, rather than to a single member of a pair. Polymorphisms refer to variations in DNA sequences among individuals; while they involve alleles, they don't specifically denote individual alleles themselves. Understanding the role of alleles is fundamental in studies related to genetics, inheritance patterns, and diversity in traits.