Breeding and Genetics Exam 1 Practice

Meiosis creates haploid daughter cells. It halves the chromosome number so the starting diploid germ cell (two sets of chromosomes) ends up producing four cells, each with a single set of chromosomes. In humans, that means gametes carry 23 chromosomes instead of 46. This reduction is what allows fertilization to restore the normal diploid number when sperm and egg unite. The process achieves this through two sequential divisions—first separating homologous chromosomes, then sister chromatids—resulting in four genetically distinct haploid cells. Options that describe diploid, triploid, or tetraploid states don’t occur as products of meiosis, since the whole point of meiosis is to reduce to one chromosome set.