Widely regarded as the father of modern genetics, Austrian friar and scientist Gregor Mendel discovered that inherited traits do not blend together, as people once believed. By cultivating thousands of pea plants in his monastery garden and statistically analyzing the results, he was the first to determine how genes (which he called "heredity factors") function, and he coined the terms "dominant" and "recessive." This title traces the amazing story of Mendel's life and work, and relates Mendel's discoveries to our knowledge and application of genetics concepts today. The text supports the Common Core aims of understanding domain-specific vocabulary in science and analyzing the development of important ideas.