How many different gametes can an individual with 23 pairs of chromosomes produce?

• A. 23
• B. 2^23
• C. 46
• D. 2^46

Answer: (B)

An individual with 23 pairs of chromosomes can produce a significant variety of gametes due to the way chromosomes assort during meiosis. Each pair of chromosomes can segregate independently into gametes, and this phenomenon is described by Mendel's law of independent assortment.

For each pair of chromosomes, there are two possible ways they can be distributed into gametes: one chromosome from the pair can either be passed on or its homolog can be passed on. Since there are 23 pairs, and each can assort in 2 different ways, the total number of combinations of chromosomes that can be formed in the gametes is calculated as (2^{n}), where (n) is the number of chromosome pairs.

Thus, for 23 pairs of chromosomes, the total number of different gametes is (2^{23}). This means an individual can produce over 8 million unique combinations of chromosomes in their gametes, highlighting the genetic variability that arises through sexual reproduction.