Question

Do genetics affect IQ?

Answer 1

Hint: Genetics is the branch of science that deals with the study of heredity. Various genes and many inheritable characters are passed on so that the offspring produced are better adapted to the new changing conditions.

Complete answer:
Genetics is the branch of science that deals with the study of heredity. In particular, It involves the study of the genes of organisms. It is a vast area in biology which covers other areas like the agriculture, biotechnology, and medical sectors. Genetics includes the study of the genes present at different levels in a population. It also involves the study of the pattern of genes being transferred from the parents to the offspring. It is observed by certain that the IQ is transferred from parents to their offspring. Although it must be noted that only a single gene is not responsible for transferring intelligence as it only affects a minimum percent of IQ. Here, it is also observed that the large number of genes are responsible for causing the change of IQ level in different individuals. Thus, IQ is dependent upon genes but it's up to genes whether they show their traits or not and make the person intelligent.
Intelligence quotient (IQ) is used to determine the level of a person’s mental and reasoning ability. It is a test that is used to assess a person’s level of intelligence and is considered to be a standardized test. We have studied that the person’s age and mental ability can be found by using certain tests. These tests are specifically designed for this purpose only. The mental age is the level of a person's mental ability. The person’s IQ will be $100\%$ if the mental and actual age of theirs matches. If the mental age of a person is more than actual age then their IQ will be more than $100\%$. While if the mental age is less than the actual age of the person then the IQ will be less than $100\%$. If the IQ of a person is equal to or above 140 then the person is said to be extremely intelligent.

Note:
To measure one’s IQ the formula was given by Stern –
\[\text{IQ = }\dfrac{\text{Mental age}}{\text{Actual age}}\text{ }\times \text{ 100}\]
Even after suggesting a formula that is now used extensively in the world, Stern also suggested not to depend on this value completely i.e. this is not the sole way to categorize one’s intelligence. Individual differences will always be a major factor which influences IQ.