Question

Does the sex of the child depend on the father or it is just a matter of chance? Discuss.

Answer 1

When X chromosome of mother pairs with Y Chromosome of father it leads to son and when the X chromosome of mother pairs with X chromosome of father it leads to a daughter. There are equal chances of birth of boy or birth of a girl.

Complete answer: The sex of the child is dependent on the father. Humans have sex chromosomes referred to as X and Y chromosomes. Gametes- eggs and sperms are produced by meiosis and gametes get half the number of chromosomes of the parent cell. Mother has two X chromosomes but the father has both X and Y chromosomes. When the X chromosome of the mother combines with the X chromosome of the father it leads to the birth of a daughter and when the X chromosome of the mother combines with the Y chromosome of the father it leads to the birth of a son. Hence sex of the baby is dependent on the father only as the mother can provide only the X chromosome. There are 50% chances of a girl and 50% chances of a boy.

Additional Information:
Other types of sex determination are:
XX -XO type of sex determination: Females have two X chromosomes and males have only one X chromosome. When one X chromosome of female combines with one X chromosome of a male it leads to the formation of females and when one X chromosomes combine with male gamete devoid of chromosome It leads to a male. This type is seen in insects.
ZW-ZZ type of sex determination: Females contain ZW sex chromosomes and males contain two Z chromosomes. It is mostly seen in birds.
ZO-ZZ type of sex determination: Females have only one Z chromosome and males have two Z chromosomes. It is seen in butterflies and moths.

Note: Males and females have sex chromosomes. The Males have one X and one Y sex chromosome. Females have two X sex chromosomes. One X chromosome from male and one X chromosome from female leads to females and one X chromosome from female and one Y chromosome from the male leads to the formation of a male.