Final answer:
A kangaroo egg, which is a gamete, contains half the number of chromosomes as a somatic cell, so it would have 8 chromosomes if the somatic cell has 16.
Step-by-step explanation:
If a somatic cell of a kangaroo contains 16 chromosomes, a kangaroo egg cell, which is a type of gamete, would contain half the number of chromosomes. This is because gametes are haploid cells, meaning they contain only one set of chromosomes. Somatic cells are diploid, which means they contain two sets of chromosomes, one from each parent. Therefore, a kangaroo egg would contain 8 chromosomes.
A somatic cell of a kangaroo contains 16 chromosomes. A somatic cell is a diploid cell, meaning it has two sets of chromosomes. To determine the number of chromosomes in a kangaroo egg, we need to consider that eggs are gametes, which are haploid cells with only one set of chromosomes. Therefore, a kangaroo egg would contain half the number of chromosomes compared to a somatic cell, so it would have 8 chromosomes.