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a few minutes
a few hours
weeks and weeks!
Correct!
Before a cell splits, it copies its chromosomes, so that each of the two new cells will have a complete set. The whole cell division process is called "mitosis" (my-TOW-sis).
Found: in the cell's nucleus
Shape: tightly curled up like steel wool
How many: 23 pairs (in humans)
Characteristics: half come from your mother and half from your father
Importance: contain all genetic information and determine whether an organism is male or female
On average, how long does it take for a cell to make a copy of all its chromosomes?
King Henry VIII chopped off his wife's head, because she never had a son. Why wasn't this her fault?
She had the rare "anti-prince" gene.
Queens give birth to daughters about 85 percent of the time.
A chromosome from the dad decides if the baby will be a boy.
Correct!
The dad, not the mom, passes on the chromosome that determines whether a baby will be a boy or a girl. The chromosome that makes a boy is the "Y chromosome."
Chimpanzees have the same number of chromosomes as humans.
Fact
OR
Fiction
?
Fiction
Chimpanzees have 48 chromosomes, while humans have 46. Dogs have 78, fruit flies have 8, trout have 120, and tomatoes have 24.
Every gene is located on a specific chromosome.
Fact
OR
Fiction
?
Fact
Each gene "lives" on a particular chromosome with hundreds of others. Scientists are still searching for the exact location of each of our 30,000 genes.