This document discusses mechanisms of sex determination and sex-linked characteristics. It describes several systems of chromosomal sex determination including XX-XO in grasshoppers, XX-XY in mammals, ZZ-ZW in birds and butterflies, and haplodiploidy in bees and ants. It also discusses genic and environmental sex determination systems. The document focuses on sex determination in humans, noting the SRY gene on the Y chromosome determines maleness. It then discusses sex-linked characteristics determined by genes on the sex chromosomes, including examples in Drosophila and humans like color blindness.