What type of cell division yields four genetically different daughter cells with half the chromosome number, also called reduction division?

• A. Chromatids
• B. Meiosis
• C. Chromosome
• D. Mitosis

Answer: (B)

Meiosis is the cell division that halves the chromosome number and produces four genetically different haploid cells. During meiosis I, homologous chromosomes pair up, crossing over can occur to mix genetic material, and then they separate, reducing the chromosome count by half. In meiosis II, the sister chromatids separate, yielding four distinct cells. This combination of chromosome reduction and genetic shuffling explains why the daughter cells are different and have half the number of chromosomes.

This differs from mitosis, which creates two diploid daughter cells that are genetically identical to the parent and to each other, without reducing the chromosome number. Chromatids are duplicated copies of a chromosome, not a division process, and a chromosome is a single DNA molecule, also not a process.