how do traits get inherited ?

Traits get inherited from parents through chromosomes. Chromosomes contain genes which are responsible for determining characters. During fertilisation, the combination of genes in the egg and sperm which fuse to form the zygote, determines the traits of the offspring. So both the father and mother contributes almost equally to the genetic material in the child. Each trait can be influenced by both paternal and maternal DNA. 

Traits get expressed by the proteins produced by the genes in the chromosomes. These proteins are responsible for controlling the characteristics in an organism.