Question

A cell has 24 chromosomes before cell division. How many chromosomes will be there in (i) one of the daughter cells resulting from mitotic division and (ii) one resulting from meiotic division?

Answer 1

Cell division is of two types:- mitosis and meiosis. In mitosis, the cell copies all its contents, including its chromosomes, and divides into two separate daughter cells. Meiosis is the process of cell division that produces gametes.

Complete answer:
Cell division is the process by which cells are separated into new cells. There are many types of cell division, based on the type of organism. Many prokaryotes, or bacteria, use binary fission to separate the cells. Eukaryotes divide by mitosis.

Mitosis is an equational division in which the parent's chromosome number is retained in the daughter's cell. Mitosis is categorised into four stages, i.e. prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase.

Sexual reproduction includes the fusion of two gametes. This specialised form of cell division which reduces the number of chromosomes by half and produces four daughter haploid cells is known as meiosis. Meiosis is one type cell division where the offspring acquire half the number of chromosomes from the parents. Hence it is called a reductional division.

Thus, if a cell has 24 chromosomes before division, the number of chromosomes in the daughter cells produced from mitotic division would remain the same i.e., 24 and the number of chromosomes in the daughter cells resulting from meiosis will be 12.

Note: In comparison to mitosis, meiosis occurs in the diploid cells that are meant to form gametes. It is called the reduction division since it reduces the chromosome number by half when producing gametes. In sexual reproduction, as the two gametes fuse, the chromosome number is returned to the parent number.