In a female mouse the diploid number is 40 - VCE - SSCE Biology - Question 2 - 2005 - Paper 1
Question 2
In a female mouse the diploid number is 40.
It is reasonable to conclude that in the mouse
A. the chromosomes exist as homologous pairs.
B. a skin cell will contain ... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:In a female mouse the diploid number is 40 - VCE - SSCE Biology - Question 2 - 2005 - Paper 1
Step 1
A. the chromosomes exist as homologous pairs.
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Answer
In a diploid organism, chromosomes exist in pairs called homologous chromosomes. Therefore, since the diploid number is 40, it indicates that there are 20 pairs of homologous chromosomes in a female mouse.
Step 2
B. a skin cell will contain 20 chromosomes.
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Answer
In diploid organisms, somatic cells (such as skin cells) contain the full set of chromosomes. Since the diploid number of the mouse is 40, the skin cells will contain 40 chromosomes, not 20.
Step 3
C. during mitosis the chromosome number would be halved.
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Answer
During mitosis, the chromosome number remains the same as the parent cell. Hence, if a diploid cell has 40 chromosomes, it will still have 40 chromosomes after mitosis.
Step 4
D. at the end of meiosis there would be 10 chromosomes per cell.
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Answer
Meiosis results in the production of gametes, which contain half the chromosome number of the original diploid cell. Therefore, if the diploid number is 40, the resulting gametes will contain 20 chromosomes each, not 10.
