AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -One copy is inherited from their mother (via the egg) and the other from their father (via the sperm). A sperm and an egg each contain one set of 23 chromosomes. When the sperm fertilises the egg, two copies of each chromosome are present (and therefore two copies of each gene), and so an embryo forms.

Detailed explanation-2: -To form a fetus, an egg from the mother and sperm from the father come together. The egg and sperm each have one half of a set of chromosomes. The egg and sperm together give the baby the full set of chromosomes. So, half the baby’s DNA comes from the mother and half comes from the father.

Detailed explanation-3: -On average, we are just as related to our parents as we are to our siblings–but there can be some slight differences! We share 1/2 of our genetic material with our mother and 1/2 with our father. We also share 1/2 of our DNA, on average, with our brothers and sisters. Identical twins are an exception to this rule.

Detailed explanation-4: -Messy meiosis Scientists find similar and different genes in siblings, often even on the same chromosome. This mix-up is possible because of a biological mechanism called chromosomal crossover. Chromosomal crossover happens when a diploid cell divides into four cells to make sperm or egg cells.

Detailed explanation-5: -Children often look like some combination of their parents. This is because each parent gives the child some of themselves gene. A child is made from the information found in the cells of the parents. These characteristics are called genes.