Question

What are genes? Where are they located?

Answer 1

Genes are hereditary units which are passed from parents to the offspring as the characteristics of the offspring are determined by the presence of genes.

Complete answer:
Genes are basic, functional and structural units of heredity which are located on chromosomes and the region of the chromosome where a specific gene is located is known as locus.
Genes are a distinct sequence of nucleotides which form a part of chromosome and they are present in almost every single cell's nucleus.
Genes are composed of DNA strands and DNA is constituted by segments which are known as genes. In some organisms, genes could be the sequence of DNA and it can be a sequence of RNA in other organisms.
Genes which are transcriptionally active code for proteins with specific functions and each gene adds a particular protein to the final outcome. These proteins are considered to perform functions like to build, regulate and maintain the body.
There is a term genome which refers to the total number of complement genes in a cell which can be stored in one or more than one chromosome. These chromosomes have a single DNA helix upon which a plenty of genes are encoded and the specific region is known as locus.

Additional information:
Genes determine what an organism looks like, for example, the appearance of organisms, how that organism survives and behaves in its environment, etc. Genes provides instructions to make proteins. Genetics is the study of genes and there is presence of around hundreds to thousands of genes in each chromosome which carry instructions to make the proteins.

Note: Genes are a distinct sequence of nucleotides which form a part of chromosomes and this determines the order of nucleic acid molecules which a cell may form. These genes are located on the locus of chromosome and it functions to carry instruction for the formation of proteins.