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A diploid organism has 8 chromosomes in G1. How many chromosomes will each of its offspring cells have after meiosis?

a) 4 chromosomes
b) 8 chromosomes
c) 16 chromosomes
d) 32 chromosomes

1 Answer

1 vote

Final answer:

After meiosis, each offspring cell of a diploid organism with 8 chromosomes in G1 will have 4 chromosomes. These cells are haploid, containing one set of chromosomes, which is half of the parental diploid number.

Step-by-step explanation:

If a diploid organism has 8 chromosomes in G1 phase, after completing meiosis, each of its offspring cells will have half the number of chromosomes, thus having 4 chromosomes. This reduction is because meiosis includes two rounds of cell division, resulting in four haploid daughter cells from one diploid parent cell. In the context of the question provided, the correct answer would be (a) 4 chromosomes.

For clarification, a diploid cell has twice the number of chromosomes as a haploid cell, or in other words, a diploid cell (2n) will have two sets of chromosomes, one set from each parent. Meiosis typically produces four haploid (n) daughter cells. Hence, each gamete, such as sperm or egg, will contain one set of chromosomes. For example, if a muscle cell of a typical organism has 32 chromosomes, a gamete of that organism will have 16 chromosomes, which is the haploid number.

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