Question

Which of the following describes the main difference between meiosis and mitosis?

(A) homologous chromosomes pair during meiosis
(B) the number of chromosomes is reduced by half during mitosis
(C) after meiosis is complete, there are 46 chromosomes in each cell
(D) after mitosis is complete there are 23 chromosomes in each cell.

Answer 1

The main difference between meiosis and mitosis is that meiosis reduces the number of chromosomes and introduces genetic variation, while mitosis produces genetically identical daughter cells and does not reduce the number of chromosomes.

Step-by-step explanation:

The main difference between meiosis and mitosis is that meiosis reduces the number of chromosomes by half and introduces genetic variation, while mitosis produces genetically identical daughter cells and does not reduce the number of chromosomes.

In meiosis, homologous chromosomes pair up, undergo crossover, and line up randomly along the metaphase plate, resulting in a reduction in ploidy level from two to one. This reduction division does not occur in mitosis.

On the other hand, mitosis is a process of asexual reproduction that produces two haploid cells with the same number of chromosomes as the parent cell.