How does meiosis alter the chromosome number in cells?

Meiosis is a specialized type of cell division that occurs in sexually reproducing organisms and is essential for the formation of gametes (sperm and eggs). During meiosis, a single diploid cell undergoes two rounds of division, known as meiosis I and meiosis II, without an intervening round of DNA replication.

At the start of meiosis, the cell contains two sets of chromosomes (one set from each parent), making it diploid (2n). In meiosis I, homologous chromosomes (pairs of similar chromosomes from each parent) are separated into different cells, resulting in two haploid cells (n), each with one set of chromosomes.

The second division, meiosis II, resembles mitosis, where the sister chromatids of each chromosome are separated, leading to the formation of four haploid cells. Each of these cells contains half the number of chromosomes compared to the original diploid cell. Therefore, meiosis effectively reduces the chromosome number by half, leading to the production of four haploid gametes from one diploid cell.

Given this process, the correct understanding of how meiosis alters chromosome number is that it does not simply increase the number of chromosomes, but instead reduces it, contributing to genetic