Which term denotes the sex-determining chromosome?

• A. Autosome
• B. Karyotype
• C. Sex Chromosome
• D. Pedigree

Answer: (C)

The key idea is recognizing chromosome types and which one carries the role of determining biological sex. The term used for the chromosome involved in sex determination is the sex chromosome. In humans, sex chromosomes are X and Y; together with 22 autosome pairs, they make up the full chromosome set. Autosomes are all the non-sex chromosomes, and a karyotype is the complete visual arrangement of all chromosomes, not a label for the sex-determining one. A pedigree, meanwhile, is a family tree that shows inheritance patterns, not chromosome classification. So the sex-determining chromosome is the sex chromosome.