How many different combinations of maternal and paternal chromosomes can be packaged in gametes made by an organism with a diploid number of 8 (2n = 8)?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The total number of different combinations of maternal and paternal chromosomes in gametes for an organism with diploid number 8 is 2^8 or 256. However, half of those combinations will come from the mother and half from the father, so the total number of unique combinations is 256/2 or 128. Since each gamete only contains one copy of each chromosome, the number of possible combinations of maternal and paternal chromosomes in a single gamete is equal to the number of chromosome pairs in the organism's diploid number, which is 4. Therefore, the number of different combinations of maternal and paternal chromosomes that can be packaged in gametes is 4^2 or 16.

How Many Different Combinations of Maternal and Paternal Chromosomes Can