Meiosis Study Sheet

Key Terms
• asexual reproduction • sexual reproduction • diploid • tetrad
• haploid • somatic cell • germ cell • gamete
• meiosis • crossing over • genetic recombination • fertilization
• zygote • gonad • homologous chromosomes • sister chromatids

Study Questions
1. Why do organisms reproduce?
2. Explain how asexual and sexual reproduction differ.
3. List and describe the three forms of asexual reproduction.
4. What is the purpose of sexual reproduction?
5. How does sexual reproduction contribute to how organisms evolve over time?
6. Describe how diploid and haploid cells differ from another.
7. List and describe the reasons why meiosis is an important process.
8. Why is it necessary for gametes to have half the number of chromosomes as somatic cells?
9. At which phase in meiosis does a cell first become haploid? Explain.
10. What are three differences between mitosis and meiosis?

Biology.com Activities 9.5, 9.6

1. www.biology.com
2. Click on Biology book (left w/ iguana eye)
3. Click on Web Site
4. Login: bioyang, Password: tigers
5. Click on Biology book again
6. Click on assigned unit, then assigned section(s)

Website(s) to check out:

1. Chromosome count in different species
http://www.hhmi.org/cgi-bin/askascientist/highlight.pl?kw=&file=answers%2Fgenetics%2Fans_007.html

State Standards Addressed:

2a. Students know meiosis is an early step in sexual reproduction in which the pairs of chromosomes separate
and segregate randomly during cell division to produce gametes containing one chromosome of each type.
2b. Students know only certain cells in a multicellular organism undergo meiosis.

Reproduction
1. What are two differences between asexual and sexual reproduction?
2. What is the purpose of meiosis?
3. Which type of reproduction is meiosis involved in?
4. Which type of reproduction is beneficial for evolution? Why?
5. Which stage of meiosis creates variation? Explain how.
6. What is the same about homologous chromosomes?
7. What is different about homologous chromosomes?

Haploid vs. Diploid

8. Which type of cell are gametes?
9. Which type of cell contains two sets of chromosomes?
10. Which type of cell contains one set of chromosomes?
 11. Which type of cell contains 23 chromosomes in humans?
12. Which type of cell contains homologous chromosomes?
13. Which type of cell contains a 2n number of chromosomes?
14. Which type of cell contains a 1n number of chromosomes?
15. Which type of cell is produced during mitosis?
16. Which type of cell is produced during meiosis?
17. Which type of cell are somatic cells?
18. Which type of cell does meiosis start with?
19. Which type of cell does mitosis start with?
20. Which type of cell is produced in meiosis 1?
21. Which type of cell is produced in meiosis 2?
22. Which type of cell contains two of each chromosome type?
23. Which type of cell contains one of each chromosome type?

Chromosome Numbers
24. How many chromosomes are in a human somatic cell?
25. How many chromosomes are in a human gamete?
26. How many different types of chromosomes are in each human cell?
27. How many chromosomes are in each set of a human?
28. How many sets of chromosomes does a human zygote contain?
29. How many total chromosomes does a human zygote contain?
30. Why do gametes contain half the number of chromosomes as other cells?
31. If a diploid cell contains 50 chromosomes, how many pairs of homologous chromosomes are there?
32. If a haploid cell contains 50 chromosomes, how many pairs of homologous chromosomes are there?
33. If a cell contains 20 different types of chromosomes, how many total chromosomes are in the somatic
cells?
34. If a cell contains 20 different types of chromosomes, how many chromosomes are in the gametes?
35. A haploid cell contains 40 total chromosomes. How many different types are there in the somatic cells?
36. A haploid cell contains 40 total chromosomes. How many different types are in the gametes?

Stages of Meiosis
37. When does crossing-over occur?
38. When do homologous chromosomes separate and move to opposite ends of the cell?
39. When do chromosomes line up in the middle of the cell?
40. When does the nuclear membrane disappear?
41. When does the nuclear membrane re-appear?
42. When are 2 daughter cells formed?
43. When do spindle fibers break down?
44. When do sister chromatids separate?
45. When do homologous chromosomes pair up and line up in the middle of the cell?
46. When are 4 daughter cells formed?
47. When do haploid cells first form?
48. Which stage is responsible for producing variation?
49. When do centrioles move to opposite ends of the cell?
50. When do centromeres break down?
Answers to Meiosis Study Questions
1) Asexual reproduction has one parent and produces clones. Sexual reproduction has two parents and
produces offspring that have a combination of mother’s and father’s genes.
2) make gametes
3) sexual
4) sexual- creates variation
5) prophase 1- through crossing over, where random pieces of homologous chromosomes are mixed
6) genes
7) parents, DNA
8) haploid
9) diploid
10) haploid
11) haploid
12) diploid
13) diploid
14) haploid
15) diploid
16) haploid
17) diploid
18) diploid
19) diploid
20) haploid
21) haploid
22) diploid
23) Haploid
24) 46
25) 23
26) 23
27) 23
28) 2
29) 46
30) The gametes (egg and sperm) combine during fertilization to create a zygote with the complete two sets
31) 25
32) 0
33) 40
34) 20
35) 40
36) 40
37) prophase 1
38) anaphase 1
39) metaphase 2
40) prophase 1, prophase 2
41) telophase 1, telophase 2
42) telophase 1
43) telophase 1, telophase 2
44) anaphase 2
45) metaphase 1
46) telophase 2
47) telophase 1
48) prophase 1
49) prophase 1, prophase 2
50) anaphase 2