Meiosis

Illustration DNA under magnifying glass
https://pixabay.com/photo-1500068/

Overview: In Meiosis, you have cell division that produces four haploid cells. Meiosis is part of sexual reproduction, requiring two parents. Each parent passes on half of its genetic material to its offspring.

  • In Mitosis, there are two of each kind of chromosome in each cell, which what we mean by “diploid”. “N” equals the number of chromosomes an organism has. Humans have 2N.
  • Mitosis takes one 2N cell and produces two identical 2N cells.
  • In Meiosis, 1 (2N cell) becomes 4 (1N) cells.
  • Learning Target: In this unit, you will learn more about crossing over, Mendel’s Laws of Segregation, and Punnett squares. This will help you understand Meiosis in more depth.
  • Navigation: The next step is to click on this link to go to the Meiosis Lab. You can also reach the lab by going to “Meiosis Lab” on the top right of the home page.
  • An infographic showing the whole Meiosis unit is below.

Meiosis Unit Infographic