Final answer:
When a normal somatic cell has 32 sister chromatids, it means it has 16 chromosomes, and its haploid number would be half of that, thus 8. This is because sister chromatids pair up to form individual chromosomes, and haploid cells like gametes contain one set of chromosomes.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Haploid Numbers in Somatic Cells
If there are 32 sister chromatids in a normal somatic cell, to determine the haploid number we need to understand that each chromosome consists of two identical sister chromatids after DNA replication. Since these chromatids are paired, we must divide the number of sister chromatids by two to find the number of chromosomes in the somatic cell, which gives us 16 chromosomes. The haploid number is half the number of chromosomes in a somatic cell because a haploid cell, such as a gamete, contains only one set of chromosomes. Therefore, if a somatic cell has 32 sister chromatids, implying it has 16 chromosomes, then the haploid number for that cell is 8, since the haploid number is half of the diploid cell's chromosome number.
With the understanding that the process of meiosis produces gametes with half the DNA content of the parent cell, we can also confirm that a gamete of the same organism would contain 8 chromosomes. This is because meiosis involves two rounds of cell division, eventually resulting in gametes that have half the number of chromosomes as the parent cell. Additionally, when considering human cells, which typically have a diploid number of 46 chromosomes, after meiosis, gametes such as sperm or egg cells end up with 23 chromosomes.