Answer: Meiosis is important for sexual reproduction because it produces gametes, also known as sex cells. Gametes have half the number of chromosomes as body cells, making them haploid. This is important because during fertilization, when an egg and a sperm combine, the resulting zygote will have the correct number of chromosomes for normal development.
To give you a clearer picture, let's take humans as an example. Human body cells, also known as somatic cells, are diploid, meaning they have a complete set of chromosomes (46 in total). On the other hand, human gametes (sperm and eggs) are haploid, meaning they only have half the number of chromosomes (23 in total).
During meiosis, the DNA in the cell is duplicated, and then two rounds of cell division occur. This process ensures that each gamete receives only one copy of each chromosome. In humans, meiosis occurs in the ovaries and testes, producing eggs and sperm respectively.
So, in summary, meiosis is important for sexual reproduction because it produces haploid gametes with half the number of chromosomes as body cells, allowing for the correct number of chromosomes to be restored during fertilization.