Meiosis and random fertilisation of gametes during sexual reproduction produce further genetic variation
Sexual reproduction shuffles genetic information in two ways. Meiosis creates genetically unique sex cells, and random fertilisation combines them unpredictably, producing new gene combinations every time.
Real World
A single human couple can theoretically produce over 70 trillion genetically unique children — independent assortment of 23 chromosome pairs during meiosis, crossing over, and random fertilisation make each sibling a one-off genetic combination.
Exam Focus
Name all three sources — independent assortment, crossing over, and random fertilisation — separately; missing one loses marks.
Evaluation Scaffold
A four-step framework for high-quality evaluation. Use this for 'assess', 'evaluate', and 'to what extent' questions.
How well did you know this?