This document provides background information on Gregor Mendel and his experiments with pea plants that formed the basis of genetics. It defines key genetic terms like phenotype, genotype, dominant, recessive, homozygous, and heterozygous. It then explains Mendel's monohybrid cross experiments, showing how a single trait is passed from parents to offspring in a 3:1 phenotypic ratio. An example monohybrid cross is shown using punnett squares to predict offspring genotypes and phenotypes.