AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Meiosis takes place during gamete formation. Gametes fuse to form a zygote. So, if gametes are not haploid the chromosome number will not be maintained in the zygote. In the absence of meiosis an organism with 46 chromosomes would end up having a zygote with 92 chromosomes instead of 46.

Detailed explanation-2: -Each daughter cell will have half of the original 46 chromosomes, or 23 chromosomes. Each chromosome consists of 2 sister chromatids. The daughter cells now move in to the third and final phase of meiosis: meiosis II. At the end of meiosis I there are two haploid cells.

Detailed explanation-3: -The other type of cell division, meiosis, ensures that humans have the same number of chromosomes in each generation. It is a two-step process that reduces the chromosome number by half-from 46 to 23-to form sperm and egg cells.

Detailed explanation-4: -The stage of meiosis that results in two cells with 46 chromosomes each is cytokinesis in meiosis I. Normal human cells have 46 chromosomes. Prior to meiosis, DNA is replicated, so cells wind up with 92 chromosomes. Then, the cell divides into two daughter cells during the first cell division meiosis I.

Detailed explanation-5: -Meiosis produces haploid gametes with one set of 23 chromosomes. When two gametes fuse, the resulting zygote is once again diploid, with the mother and father each contributing 23 chromosomes.