Which of the following is a difference between mitosis and meiosis?
Answer Details
The difference between mitosis and meiosis is that meiosis involves the pairing of homologous chromosomes, while mitosis does not. Both mitosis and meiosis are types of cell division, but they have different purposes. Mitosis is responsible for the growth and repair of somatic (body) cells, while meiosis is responsible for the production of gametes (sex cells) for sexual reproduction. During meiosis, homologous chromosomes pair up, crossing over each other to exchange genetic material before they separate. This results in a shuffling of genetic information and the creation of genetically diverse gametes. In contrast, during mitosis, the chromosomes replicate and the cell divides into two identical daughter cells, each with the same number of chromosomes as the parent cell.