Question

How are meiosis and mitosis different?

What does haploid mean?

What does the sperm bring to the egg?

Answer 1

Mitosis results in two daughter cells from a parent cell while meiosis results in four daughter cells from a parent cell. Mitosis produces cells having same number of chromosomes as the parent cell, but the resulted cells from meiosis contains half number of chromosomes than the parent cell. Mitosis results in formation of diploid cells, but Meiosis results in haploid cells. Mitosis cell division is generally shown by the somatic cells, but meiosis takes place in germinal epithelial cells and results in the production of Gametes. Mitosis helps in growth and development of a organ, while meiosis helps in bringing genetic diversity by forming Gametes. Mitosis is associated with asexual reproduction and meiosis is associated with sexual reproduction.

When a cell contains half number of chromosomes than the normal number of chromosomes that should be present in a cell, the cell is called as haploid cell. When a cell contains a single set of unpaired chromosome, the cell is called as haploid, but if have two sets of chromosomes, the cell is called as diploid cell. For example the human cells have 46 chromosomes in normal, but when a cell contains 23 chromosomes (sperm and ovum), the cell is called as haploid.

The egg contains half number of chromosomes from the mother. Meanwhile, the sperm brings half number of chromosomes from the father. Hence when the sperm fertilizes the egg, the resulted zygote contains normal number of chromosomes. As the sperm and egg have different set of chromosomes, they fertilize to make a new combination of chromosomes and helps in maintaining the normal number of chromosomes in a cell instead of sexual reproduction.