Final answer:
Human somatic cells are diploid with 46 chromosomes, while human gametes are haploid with 23 chromosomes. In somatic cells, there are 22 autosomal chromosome pairs and one sex chromosome pair, and gametes carry only one set of these chromosomes.
Step-by-step explanation:
The correct answer to the question of the chromosome number in human cells is option b. Human somatic cells contain 46 chromosomes and are considered diploid, which means they have two sets of chromosomes, one from each parent. Each somatic cell has 23 pairs of chromosomes, making a total of 46. On the other hand, human gametes (sperm and egg) have 23 chromosomes each and are referred to as haploid, since they contain only one set of chromosomes. This is important during fertilization, where one gamete from each parent combines to form a diploid zygote with the correct number of chromosomes for the species.
It's also noteworthy to mention the distinction between autosomal chromosomes and sex chromosomes in humans. Of the 23 pairs of chromosomes in somatic cells, the first 22 pairs are autosomal, and the last pair determines the person's sex, which can be XX for females and XY for males. The 23rd pair in the gametes will be either an X or a Y chromosome for sperm, and an X chromosome for eggs.