Question

What is the goal of meiosis? How many daughter cells do you have at the end of meiosis?

Answer 1

Answer:

Goal of meiosis: To produce gametes with half the number of chromosomes as compared to the somatic cells.

Each parent cell produces four daughter cells by the end of meiosis.

Explanation:

The goal of meiosis is to produce gametes for sexual reproduction. Since male and female gametes fuse to produce a zygote, each of the gametes should have half the number of chromosomes as compared to the somatic cells to prevent the doubling of chromosomes by the end of each round of sexual reproduction.

Therefore, meiosis produces haploid gametes from diploid gamete mother cells. Absence of DNA replication between meiosis I and meiosis II ensures that the number of chromosomes is halved in the daughter cells of meiosis. Additionally, meiosis also imparts genetic variations to the progeny by the process of crossing over.  

A diploid parent cell enters meiosis I and produces two haploid daughter cells which in turn enter meiosis II to produce a total four haploid daughter cells.