Diqui L. answered • 03/10/26
Helping students understand Biology for over 25 years!
The process of meiosis starts with a diploid cell, where 2n represents the total number of chromosomes, and it ends with 4 haploid cells where n indicates the number of chromosomes. For example, humans have a total of 46 chromosomes, or 2n=46. The letter "n" represents the number of different types of chromosomes, and we have 23 pairs where n=23.
During anaphase I, the chromosomes initially duplicate so that each chromosome is composed of 2 sister chromatids. The number of unique chromosomes remains the same. The number of chromosomes does not get split inhalf until the very end of meiosis when the cell divides by cytokinesis.
This question asks about the chromosome number at the end of anaphase I. At anaphase I, the cell is still diploid, even though the chromosomes have split to separate sides of the cell.
If there are 48 chromosomes at the end of Anaphase I, then 2n=48 (a diploid cell).
The question asks how many chromosomes are in the gamete of this organism.
Gametes are haploid, or 1n. If 2n=48, then n=24.
There are 24 chromosomes in the gamete.
