Gregor Mendel is the father of genetics. He was curious why sisters and brothers don’t look alike. Mendel traced how traits were passed from parent pea plants to their offspring. Peas grow quickly, so he could observe hundreds of generations. These large numbers helped Mendel obtain accurate results in his experiments. He studied pollination, where pollen grains are transferred from the male to female part of the plant. Male and female sex cells join in a process called fertilization. The single cell develops into a(n)seed. Mendel crossed tall and short plants to create offspring that were hybrids. The resulting plants were tall, which he called the dominant trait.