Use what you have learned about asexual and sexual reproduction from this modeling activity to explain why asexual reproduction produces offspring that are identical to the originals,and sexual reproduction produces offspring that are unique from their originals. Be sure your essay is at least one paragraph long, but you are welcome to write more. Be specific in your response by referencing chromosomes and cell phases to support your explanation. You may look back at your summary questions to help you complete this essay. Please provide your answer in the space below.
Answers
Answer:
Asexual
Before a cell divides, its nucleus divides. Each chromosome is copied, and each nucleus receives the same genetic material: genes, made of DNA.
As each cell divides into two, the resulting "daughter" cells are therefore exact copies of one another.
Sexual
Both male and female sex cells (sperms and eggs in animals, pollen and ovules in plants) are produced by a special cell division process which halves the number of chromosomes in each resulting cell. The chromosome separation process ensures that each sex cell has a unique combination of genes in its nucleus.
Fertilisation is also a random process and so when the nuclei fuse the resulting fertilised egg (zygote) has an individual genetic makeup.
In contrast to asexual reproduction, sexual reproduction introduces variation into offspring. This is an essential feature in order for evolution to take place.