Sexual Reproduction

Question 0

do you need two parents for sexual reproduction

Answer 0

no because you just need two sexes and a single parent can be both (hermaphrodite)

Question 1

what is sexual reproduction

Answer 1

a cell from one source (sperm cell) fuses with a cell from another source (egg cell) to produce a zygote

Question 2

what is the point of sexual reproduction

Answer 2

-produce variation to prevent dying out

Question 3

how is variation produced

Answer 3

by sex because of how the DNA is packaged

Question 4

how do organisms except bacteria package their DNA in chromosomes

Answer 4

in homologous pairs

Question 5

what is a homologous pair

Answer 5

chromosomes are similar size shape and information they contain but they are not identical

Question 6

what happens when a male and female have sex

Answer 6

• male randomly donates one member of each homologous pair (packaged in sperm) and the female does the same (packaged in the egg cell)
• parents give “half of itself” to the offspring

Question 7

what is the result of sex

Answer 7

an individual who resembles either parent but is unique

Question 8

what happens when the chromosomes get passed on randomly

Answer 8

a unique combination of chromosomes whenever sperm and egg meet

Question 9

how do we make sperm or egg cells that only have one member of each homologous pair

Answer 9

by a special type of cell division called meiosis or reduction division

Question 10

what is meiosis

Answer 10

• similar to mitosis except the cell divides twice instead if once
• you get four daughter cells, each with half the normal chromosome number

Question 11

what are cells called that have the usual number of chromosomes

Answer 11

• diploid
• in humans sperm/egg cells have 23 chromosomes (haploid)
• all other cells have 46 chromosomes (diploid)