Question

which of the following sources of genetic variation in sexually reproducing organisms results from the extremely large number of sperm released during reproduction?

○ independent assortment

○ random fertilization

○ mutation

○ crossing over

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

• Independent assortment: Involves chromosome alignment during meiosis, not related to sperm quantity.
• Random fertilization: With a large number of sperm, any one can fertilize an egg, leading to genetic variation due to this randomness.
• Mutation: Involves DNA changes, not related to sperm release quantity.
• Crossing over: Occurs during meiosis (chromosome exchange), not related to sperm number.

So the correct option is random fertilization as it's about the random choice of sperm (due to large number) to fertilize an egg.

Answer:

random fertilization