Which scientific study focuses primarily on the principles of inheritance?

The correct answer, which focuses primarily on the principles of inheritance, is genetics. Genetics is the branch of biology that studies how traits and characteristics are passed from one generation to the next through genes. It encompasses the mechanisms of inheritance, the structure and function of DNA, and the behavior of genes during reproduction.

This field examines concepts such as dominant and recessive traits, genotype and phenotype relationships, and patterns of inheritance such as Mendelian genetics, which lays the groundwork for understanding how biological information is transmitted across generations.

The other fields, while interconnected with genetics, do not primarily focus on inheritance. Genomics encompasses the study of the entirety of an organism's genes and their interactions but is broader than just inheritance. Biochemistry looks into the chemical processes and substances that occur within living organisms, focusing more on molecular interactions than on inheritance. Evolutionary biology studies the changes in species over time and how genetics plays a role in evolution, but the primary concern is with the evolutionary processes rather than the mechanisms of inheritance itself.