Question

What is an allele? :

Answer 1

an allele is a purple genetic thingy that shows traits

Answer 2

An allele is a copy of a gene (or a group of genes) that produce a phenotype (characteristic). Individuals generally have two alleles for each gene (or group of genes) with one from each parent. Alleles can be dominant or recessive - the dominant allele is the one which the offspring displays, whereas the recessive allele is "carried" ie not expressed but might be present in the next generation if the other parent also has the recessive allele. I hope this makes things simpler rather than more complex.