I am comfused about meiosis and mitosis. First of all, both are forms of asexual reproduction, right?
I know that in mitosis, you end up with two offspring. In meiosis, you end up with four.
I don't get the part about the chromosomes. If you start out with a certain number, like 4, will you end up with 4 chromosomes ine each offspring, or half that, 2?
Thanks.
brie
Thank you for using the Jiskha Homework Help Forum. Although Biology is definitely not my area, here are some sites on your subject:
1. http://www.accessexcellence.org/RC/VL/GG/comparison.html
2. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/miracle/divide.html
3. (Broken Link Removed)
4. (Broken Link Removed)
Although there are more sites, these look like they would cover what you need.
I'm sorry, but I am unable to access external websites. However, I can explain the concepts of mitosis and meiosis to you directly.
Mitosis and meiosis are both processes of cell division, but they have different purposes and outcomes.
Mitosis is a form of cell division that occurs in somatic (non-reproductive) cells. It is responsible for growth, tissue repair, and asexual reproduction in some organisms. In mitosis, a single cell divides to produce two identical cells, referred to as daughter cells. The purpose of mitosis is to create new cells that are genetically identical to the parent cell. During mitosis, the chromosomes replicate (copy themselves) and then divide equally between the daughter cells. This means that if the parent cell has 4 chromosomes, each daughter cell will also have 4 chromosomes.
Meiosis, on the other hand, is a form of cell division that occurs in reproductive cells (eggs and sperm) and is involved in sexual reproduction. The purpose of meiosis is to produce gametes (reproductive cells) with half the number of chromosomes as the parent cell. This is important because when two gametes fuse during fertilization, they will create an offspring with the correct number of chromosomes. Meiosis involves two rounds of cell division, called meiosis I and meiosis II. In meiosis I, the chromosomes pair up and exchange genetic material, a process known as crossing over. Then they separate into two daughter cells, each with half the number of chromosomes (in humans, this would be 23 chromosomes). In meiosis II, these daughter cells divide again, resulting in four haploid cells (gametes), each containing half the number of chromosomes as the parent cell. This means that if the parent cell has 4 chromosomes, each gamete will have 2 chromosomes.
So, to summarize, in mitosis, the number of chromosomes is maintained in the daughter cells, while in meiosis, the number of chromosomes is halved.