PATHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Two parents are involved (both male and a female). Gamete formation and fertilization take place. The whole process is slow and lengthy. Variation occurs; offspring are different from parents, genetically and physically.

Detailed explanation-2: -Sexual reproduction has the potential to produce tremendous genetic variation in offspring. This variation is due to independent assortment and crossing-over during meiosis, and random union of gametes during fertilization.

Detailed explanation-3: -Sexual reproduction provides genetic diversity because the sperm and egg that are produced contain different combinations of genes than the parent organisms. Asexual reproduction, on the other hand, does not need sperm and eggs since one organism splits into two organisms that have the same combination of genes.

Detailed explanation-4: -Sexual reproduction involves meiosis in the formation of gametes. Meiosis is a type of cell division that reduces the number of chromosomes in the parent cell by half and produces four gamete cells. This process is required to produce egg and sperm cells for sexual reproduction.

Detailed explanation-5: -Reproduction may be asexual when one individual produces genetically identical offspring, or sexual when the genetic material from two individuals is combined to produce genetically diverse offspring. Asexual reproduction occurs through fission, budding, and fragmentation.