Questions: If a typical somatic cell has 64 chromosomes, how many chromosomes are expected in each gamete of that organism?
Transcript text: If a typical somatic cell has 64 chromosomes, how many chromosomes are expected in each gamete of that organism?
8
16
32
64
128
Solution
The answer is the third one (32): each gamete of that organism is expected to have 32 chromosomes.
Explanation:
In sexually reproducing organisms, somatic cells are diploid, meaning they contain two sets of chromosomes, one from each parent.
Gametes (sperm and egg cells), on the other hand, are haploid, meaning they contain only one set of chromosomes. This is because gametes are produced through meiosis, a process that reduces the chromosome number by half.
If a typical somatic cell has 64 chromosomes, it means it is diploid with 64 chromosomes in total.
Therefore, each gamete, being haploid, would have half the number of chromosomes found in a somatic cell.
Half of 64 is 32, so each gamete would have 32 chromosomes.
Summary:
Each gamete of the organism is expected to have 32 chromosomes, as gametes are haploid and contain half the number of chromosomes found in diploid somatic cells.