Final answer:
A hedgehog's somatic cells have 90 chromosomes, so it inherits 45 from each parent. Gametes would normally contain half, which suggests 45, but the mix-up in the question hints at an incorrect base number. Offspring's somatic cells will have the same number as the parent, which is 90.
Step-by-step explanation:
The hedgehog's somatic cells contain 90 chromosomes, which means:
- a. The hedgehog inherited 45 chromosomes from each parent since somatic cells are diploid and contain two sets of chromosomes: one set from the mother and one set from the father.
- b. The hedgehog's gametes would have half the number of chromosomes present in somatic cells, which is 45 chromosomes divided by 2, equating to 22.5. However, since chromosomes cannot be split, this indicates an error, and the correct number should be an integer. If we correct the premise that somatic cells typically contain an even number of chromosomes, the number of chromosomes in the gametes would be 45.
- c. Each somatic cell of the hedgehog's offspring will also contain 90 chromosomes, as this is the characteristic chromosome number for this species.
- d. None of the above statements are correct due to the incorrect information provided about the chromosome numbers.
It is important to note that in human biology, somatic cells contain 46 chromosomes, which are diploid, and the gametes contain 23 chromosomes, which are haploid. This is different from the hedgehog example provided.