Question

complete the comparison table:
sexual asexual
number of parents needed
gametes? (yes/no)
fertilization? (yes/no)
number of chromosome sets
offspring genetically unique? (yes/no)

Explanation:

• Number of parents needed: Sexual reproduction requires two parents (male and female), while asexual reproduction involves only one parent.
• Gametes? (yes/no): Sexual reproduction involves the formation and fusion of gametes (sperm and egg), so the answer is yes. Asexual reproduction does not involve gametes, so the answer is no.
• Fertilization? (yes/no): Fertilization (fusion of gametes) is a key step in sexual reproduction (yes), while it is absent in asexual reproduction (no).
• Number of chromosome sets: In sexual reproduction, offspring receive a combination of chromosomes from two parents. Typically, in diploid organisms, parents contribute one set each (so offspring have two sets, but the process involves meiosis - related chromosome number changes). In asexual reproduction (like in many single - celled organisms or in mitotic - based asexual reproduction in multicellular organisms), the offspring have the same number of chromosome sets as the parent (usually one set in haploid asexual reproducers or two sets in diploid asexual reproducers that use mitosis). But a more general way: Sexual reproduction often has a reduction (meiosis) and then combination (fertilization) - related chromosome set changes (but for the sake of comparison, if we consider the parent - offspring chromosome set relationship in a simple sense, asexual has same as parent, sexual has a combination. However, a more accurate cell - biological view: In sexual reproduction (in diploid organisms), parents are diploid (2n), gametes are haploid (n), and offspring are diploid (2n). In asexual reproduction (if by mitosis in diploid), parent is 2n, offspring is 2n. If by binary fission in haploid (like some protists), parent is n, offspring is n. But for the table, we can say sexual - involves a process (meiosis and fertilization) that can be seen as having a 'change' in the context of combining sets (but a more precise answer: in sexual reproduction (for diploid - diploid systems), offspring have two sets (from two parents' gametes which have one set each). In asexual (mitotic - based in diploid), offspring have two sets (same as parent). If we consider a more general comparison without getting into too much detail, sexual - two sets (from two parents' gametes), asexual - same as parent (usually one or two depending on parent, but if we assume a common case like mitotic asexual in diploid, two). But a better approach: Sexual reproduction: In the context of the life cycle, has a haploid - diploid transition (but for the table, if we just compare the number of sets in offspring relative to a simple parent - offspring in a single generation: sexual - two (from two parents' gametes each with one), asexual - same as parent (e.g., two in mitotic asexual of diploid).
• Offspring genetically unique? (yes/no): In sexual reproduction, due to genetic recombination (crossing over in meiosis and random combination of gametes), offspring are genetically unique (yes). In asexual reproduction (where offspring are clones of the parent, like in binary fission or mitotic asexual reproduction), offspring are not genetically unique compared to the parent (no).

Answer:

	Sexual	Asexual
Gametes? (yes/no)	yes	no
Fertilization? (yes/no)	yes	no
Number of chromosome sets (assuming a common diploid - based comparison)	2 (from two haploid gametes)	2 (same as parent, if mitotic asexual in diploid)
Offspring genetically unique? (yes/no)	yes	no