Final answer:
Each daughter cell resulting from mitosis will have the same number of chromosomes as the original cell; for a cell with 32 chromosomes, this equates to 22 chromosomes in each daughter cell. Meiosis, on the other hand, reduces the chromosome number by half, leading to gametes with 16 chromosomes if the original cell had 32 chromosomes.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Mitosis and Meiosis in Cell Division
When a cell with chromosomes undergoes mitosis, the process results in two daughter cells that each have the same number of chromosomes as the original cell. If a muscle cell of a typical organism has 32 chromosomes, after mitosis, each daughter cell would also have 32 chromosomes, indicating that the correct answer to the student's question would be 22 chromosomes for option b (assuming the typo in the provided options). However, during meiosis, which is the process of cell division that produces gametes, the number of chromosomes in each haploid daughter cell is halved. Therefore, a gamete of the same organism would contain 16 chromosomes (option b). It's essential to differentiate between mitosis and meiosis to understand the results concerning chromosome numbers in daughter cells.
For further clarification, diploid cells contain two sets of chromosomes (2n), which is double the number in haploid cells. Mitosis preserves the diploid number of chromosomes in somatic cells, while meiosis reduces it by half to produce haploid gametes.