Which term refers to a genetic factor that is overshadowed by the presence of a dominant factor?

The term that refers to a genetic factor that is overshadowed by the presence of a dominant factor is a recessive trait. In genetics, traits can be classified as dominant or recessive based on how they manifest in the organism. A dominant trait is one that will express itself in the phenotype even if only one copy of the dominant allele is present. In contrast, a recessive trait requires two copies of the recessive allele for it to be expressed; this means that if a dominant allele is also present, the recessive trait will not be exhibited.

For example, in a scenario where one parent carries a dominant trait for flower color (let's say purple) and the other parent carries a recessive trait (let's say white), the offspring will typically express the purple flower color because the dominant trait overshadows the recessive one. Only if the offspring inherits two copies of the recessive allele will the white flower color appear. This understanding is foundational to the study of genetics and inheritance patterns.