(N/A) Even though Mendel (commonly called the $Father$ of $Genetics$) had discussed inheritable 'factors' influencing phenotype,Darwin either ignored these observations or remained silent.
Darwin would have been able to explain the origin of variations if he had integrated Mendel's principles.
Darwin asserted that variations,which are heritable and improve resource utilization (making organisms better adapted to their habitat),enable only those individuals to reproduce and leave more progeny.
Although $Darwinism$ explains the 'survival of the fittest',it does not explain the 'arrival of the fittest'.
Darwin could not explain the mechanism for the inheritance of continuous useful variations from one generation to the next.
However,Mendel explained that the inheritance of characters is particulate and that every character is controlled by a pair of factors (now called $Alleles$).
Therefore,if Darwin had been aware of $Mendelism$,he could have explained the origin of variations and their mode of inheritance.