24 Why is melosis important for sexual reproduction? A It allows the zygote formed from fertilization to have triple the chromosome number of the organism. B It allows gametes to have twice the original number of chromosomes of the organism. C It allows gametes to have half the original number of chromosomes of the organism. D It allows the zygote formed from fertilization to have half the original number of chromosomes of the organism.

## Step 1<br />Meiosis is a type of cell division that reduces the number of chromosomes in a parent cell by half to produce four gamete cells. This process is essential for sexual reproduction because it ensures that when two gametes (sperm and egg) combine during fertilization, the resulting zygote has the correct number of chromosomes.<br /><br />## Step 2<br />Option A is incorrect because the zygote does not have triple the chromosome number of the organism. Instead, the zygote has the same number of chromosomes as the organism, which is the sum of the chromosomes from both gametes.<br /><br />## Step 3<br />Option B is incorrect because gametes do not have twice the original number of chromosomes of the organism. If gametes had twice the number of chromosomes, the resulting zygote would have four times the number of chromosomes, which is not the case.<br /><br />## Step 4<br />Option C is correct because gametes have half the original number of chromosomes of the organism. This is the purpose of meiosis, to reduce the chromosome number by half so that when fertilization occurs, the resulting zygote has the correct number of chromosomes.<br /><br />## Step 5<br />Option D is incorrect because the zygote does not have half the original number of chromosomes of the organism. The zygote has the same number of chromosomes as the organism, which is the sum of the chromosomes from both gametes.