Gametes - sex cells

Male sex cell - sperm

Female sex cell - egg

1. Father and mother produce gametes

2. Sperm nucleus fuses with egg nucleus to produce zygote

3. Zygote undergoes cell division by mitosis and turns into an embryo

Zygote:

Meiosis

Division 1:

1. Cell duplicates its DNA

2. Chromosomes from each parent line up at the cell’s equator

3. Pairs are pulled apart - each new cell will have a mixture of chromosomes from mother and father (e.g 3:1 ratio)

Division 2 - a lot like mitosis:

1. Chromosomes line up at equator

2. Chromatids (arms of chromosomes - not whole chromosome) are pulled apart from each pair

Produces 4 haploid daughter cells