Question

sexual asexual
relative complexity of organism (including size)
number of parents who contribute genetic information to the offspring
reproductive mechanism
relative amount of parental care
genetic variation in the offspring

Explanation:

To fill the table, we analyze each row for sexual and asexual reproduction:

1. Relative complexity of organism (including size)

• Sexual: Organisms are generally more complex (e.g., animals, flowering plants) and often larger.
• Asexual: Organisms are typically simpler (e.g., bacteria, fungi, some plants) and smaller.

2. Number of parents who contribute genetic information to the offspring

• Sexual: Requires 2 parents (one male, one female) to combine gametes.
• Asexual: Requires 1 parent (offspring are clones of the parent).

3. Reproductive mechanism

• Sexual: Involves fusion of gametes (fertilization) from two parents (e.g., meiosis produces gametes, then fertilization).
• Asexual: Involves single - parent reproduction (e.g., binary fission, budding, vegetative propagation; no gamete fusion).

4. Relative amount of parental care

• Sexual: Often higher (e.g., mammals nurse young, birds incubate eggs) as offspring may be more vulnerable.
• Asexual: Generally lower (offspring are self - sufficient or rely little on parents, e.g., bacteria divide and disperse).

5. Genetic variation in the offspring

• Sexual: High genetic variation (offspring inherit a mix of genes from two parents due to meiosis and fertilization).
• Asexual: Low genetic variation (offspring are genetically identical to the parent, barring mutations).

Answer:

	Sexual	Asexual
Number of parents who contribute genetic information to the offspring	2 parents	1 parent
Reproductive mechanism	Fusion of gametes (fertilization)	Single - parent reproduction (e.g., binary fission, budding)
Relative amount of parental care	Higher	Lower
Genetic variation in the offspring	High	Low