Reproduction

• Sexual Reproduction involves the fusion of male and female gametes
• Sexual Reproduction

  The mother and father produce gametes by mixing egg and sperm cells in animals
• A gamete has just one of each chromosome instead of two of each
• The mixture of genetic information produces variation in the offspring
• The cell in asexual reproduction has exactly the same genetic information as the parent cell, making it a clone
• Asexual Reproduction


  Produces genetically identical cells where there is only one parent so the offspring are genetically identical to that parent
• The offspring in asexual reproduction are genetically identical to the parent, making them clones
• Sexual Reproduction

  Produces genetically different cells where genetic information from a father and a mother combine to produce offspring which are genetically different to either parent
• Sexual Reproduction


  The egg cell from the mother and the sperm cell from the father fuse together (fertilisation) to form a cell with the full number of chromosomes, half from the father and half from the mother
• Offspring inherit features from both parents, receiving a mixture of chromosomes from the mother and father
• In humans, each gamete contains 23 chromosomes, half the number of chromosomes in a normal cell
• Asexual Reproduction


  Happens by mitosis, where an ordinary cell makes a new cell by splitting in two
• Flowering plants can reproduce sexually, having egg cells and pollen
• In asexual reproduction, there is no fusion of gametes, no mixing of chromosomes, and no genetic variation between parent and offspring