Independent assortment alone gives a human how many genetically distinct gametes?

1. At metaphase I each tetrad can face either pole, giving two arrangements per pair. 2. The orientation of one tetrad does not affect any of the others. 3. So the number of possible alignments is 2 raised to the number of chromosome pairs. 4. Humans have 23 pairs, so that is 2 to the power 23. 5. That works out at over eight million distinct combinations. 6. Crossing over adds still more variety on top of this figure. 7. Answering forty six counts chromosomes rather than combinations. 8. Answering twenty three counts the pairs and forgets to raise 2 to that power. _Source: OpenStax Biology 1e (CC BY 4.0), Chs 10 and 11, section 11.1 The Process of Meiosis_