When male and female reproductive cells join in a process to produce a new cell, the process is called what?

• A. Fertilization
• B. Mitosis
• C. Meiosis
• D. Differentiation

Answer: (A)

Fertilization is the fusion of male and female gametes to form a single diploid cell, a zygote. Gametes are haploid, each with one set of chromosomes, and their union restores the full chromosome complement and combines genetic material from two parents. This step Kickstarts development, after which the zygote can begin dividing by mitosis to grow. Mitosis, by contrast, is a cell division process that creates identical daughter cells without combining genetic material from two parents. Meiosis is the division that produces haploid gametes themselves, not the fusion of two cells. Differentiation is about cells becoming specialized during development, not about forming a new cell from two gametes.