TOPIC: REPRODUCTION IN PLANTS AND ANIMALS
SUBTOPIC: MEIOSIS
LESSON/CONCEPT: Recall that most cells are formed by mitosis during which the chromosomal number remains the same. Because sex cells require half the number of chromosomes to maintain chromosomal number, meiosis is necessary. Meiosis is the process of nuclear division that reduces the number of chromosomes in new cells to half the number of chromosomes in the parent cell through separation of homologous chromosomes.
RATIONALE: Meiosis is a complicated process that ensures that even after fertilization the chromosomal number of the zygote is the same as that of the parents. It is essential that students understand the process by which diploid cells are able to divide and reduce the chromosomal number to half such that the parental chromosomal number is maintained.