Haploid sex cells, sperm and egg, that fuse at fertilisation.
Sperm are small, motile, with a mid-piece packed with mitochondria and an acrosome; eggs are large, nutrient-rich and immobile. Humans produce millions of sperm daily but typically only one egg per month. Anisogamy underlies sexual selection.
Gametes are haploid. The sperm's flagellum is powered by mitochondria. Egg cytoplasm supplies nutrients and mitochondria.
Key idea: each gamete carries half the parent's genome.
Haploid sex cells, sperm and egg, that fuse at fertilisation.
Gametes is one of the 54 topics in Reproduction & Endocrinology. It is rated Beginner, so it suits learners who are starting out in biology. Related topics in this area include Sexual Reproduction, Reproduction, Spermatogenesis.
Ostrich egg is the largest single cell.
Gametes is a Beginner topic, so no earlier topic is required. Other Beginner topics in Reproduction & Endocrinology that pair well with it include Reproduction, Asexual Reproduction, Sexual Reproduction.
The closest topics to Gametes are Sexual Reproduction, Reproduction, Spermatogenesis, Oogenesis. Comparing them side by side is a good way to see how the ideas connect.
Read the summary and the in-depth section, then use the quick check on the interactive lesson for Gametes. To practise the whole of Reproduction & Endocrinology, use the Reproduction & Endocrinology quiz.
Gametes: Haploid sex cells, sperm and egg, that fuse at fertilisation. Sexual Reproduction: Two gametes fuse, mixing genetic material to produce varied offspring. Read both side by side and note what each one explains.
First, read the summary and write the definition in your own words. Second, read the in-depth section and note any example. Third, compare it with Sexual Reproduction and explain the difference aloud. Finally, take the Reproduction & Endocrinology quiz and come back to this page for any question you miss.
Two gametes fuse, mixing genetic material to produce varied offspring.
🌸 Reproduction & EndocrinologyThe biological process by which organisms produce offspring, asexual or sexual.
🌸 Reproduction & EndocrinologyProduction of sperm in the seminiferous tubules by meiosis and differentiation.
🌸 Reproduction & EndocrinologyDevelopment of egg cells in the ovary, with unequal division creating one large ovum and polar bodies.
🌸 Reproduction & Endocrinology