Meiosis is the cell division that produces reproductive cells not identical to the parent cell.

• A. Mitosis
• B. Meiosis
• C. Cytokinesis
• D. Binary fission

Answer: (B)

Meiosis is the process that creates reproductive cells with half the chromosome number and introduces genetic variation, so they are not identical to the parent. In meiosis, the chromosome number is reduced from diploid to haploid through two rounds of division. During the first division, homologous chromosomes pair up and can exchange genetic material (crossing over), shuffling genes. In the second division, sister chromatids separate. All of this yields four genetically different gametes rather than identical copies.

Mitosis, by contrast, produces two diploid daughter cells that are genetically identical to the parent. Cytokinesis is the splitting of the cytoplasm that happens after mitosis or meiosis, not a distinct mode of producing non-identical reproductive cells. Binary fission is how many bacteria reproduce asexually, yielding identical copies.