The sperm and ovum that joined to become you each had only one half of each of the pairs of chromosomes that belonged to your father and mother.The process that created the sperm and ovum is known as ____.
A) mitosis
B) halitosis
C) meiosis
D) zygosis

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Meiosis is the process of cell division that creates haploid cells (sperm and ovum) with only half the number of chromosomes as the parent cell. This is necessary for sexual reproduction to produce genetically diverse offspring, as each sperm and ovum carry a unique combination of genetic information from the mother and father. Mitosis is the process of cell division that creates two identical daughter cells with the same number of chromosomes as the parent cell. Halitosis is bad breath and has no relation to cell division. Zygosis is not a recognized term in biology.

The Sperm and Ovum That Joined to Become You Each