alleryStart learning →Why is meiosis I described as a reduction division?
APloidy drops from haploid to diploid
BChromosome number stays the same
CCell size drops to about one half
DPloidy drops from diploid to haploid
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. Ploidy drops from diploid to haploid
1. Ploidy counts how many complete sets of chromosomes a nucleus holds.
2. The starting cell is diploid, with two sets.
3. Meiosis I sends one member of each homologous pair to each pole.
4. Each new nucleus therefore ends up with one full set, which is haploid.
5. Cutting the number of sets from two to one is the reduction the name refers to.
6. Mitosis has no such step, since both daughter nuclei keep the parent ploidy.
_Source: OpenStax Biology 1e (CC BY 4.0), Chs 10 and 11, section 11.1 The Process of Meiosis_
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