Main content
Middle school biology - NGSS
Course: Middle school biology - NGSS > Unit 2
Lesson 1: Sexual and asexual reproductionSexual and asexual reproduction
NGSS.MS:
MS‑LS1.B.1
, MS‑LS3‑2
Review your understanding of sexual and asexual reproduction in this free article aligned to NGSS standards.
Key points:
- Reproduction is the process of making new organisms. Parent organisms reproduce to make offspring.
- When organisms reproduce, they pass their genetic information to their offspring. This genetic information includes genes, which are pieces of hereditary material that affect an organism's inherited traits.
- During asexual reproduction, a single parent produces offspring. The offspring have the same genes, and therefore the same inherited traits, as the parent.
- During sexual reproduction, two parents produce offspring. The offspring have a mix of genes from both parents. As a result, offspring have a different set of traits compared to either parent.
Want to join the conversation?
Why does one parent make the offspring identical?(12 votes)
If there is only one parent contributing genes, all of the genes from that parent are passed on, making the offspring genetically identical. If there are two parents, then half of the genes from one parent are contributed, and half the genes from the other parent. They mix and make offspring that aren't identical to either parent.(33 votes)
If two parents make another and each give the offspring 1/2 of their DNA, why do some offspring look or act way more like one parent?(4 votes)- As for the appearance I am not sure, but behaviour is mostly based off of which parent influenced the child more after birth.(17 votes)
- Upvote this vote :L(12 votes)
This sounds like a lame question, but if one type of bacteria always asexually produces, then would the genes of the very first kind of bacteria be the exact same as the newest bacteria just produced? Will there ever be a mistake in the genes or an addition of genes based on evolution and adaptation?(9 votes)
This isn't a lame question!
They're always mutating, always to make some
bacteria like E.coli and something special, like M.tuberlosist exist. Over many billion years, evolution has made an unimaginable forest of bacteria, we can't even count. Right now, in your body, more than a billion bacteria are dividing, mutating, and dying. Hope this helps!
Passe une bonne journée!
From France(5 votes)
So is asexual reproduction just cloning?(5 votes)- Um...No.Like Daphina, a common water flea, it can reproduce both asexually and sexually. More example:
Komodo dragon
Whiptails
Starfish
Aphid
Marbled crayfish
Lizards
Common water fleas
Sponge
Whiptail lizards
Passe une bonne journée!
From France(6 votes)
What came first the chicken or the egg??(4 votes)- The egg, because the first chicken was probably mutant.(7 votes)
What are the advantages and disadvantages of asexual and sexual?(6 votes)- some advantages of a sexual, and asexual beings is that they both create life on earth, and somewhat do the same job!(2 votes)
- What a lot of people dont seem to think about is that asexual reproducing organisms typically have a strong need to be the same such as bacteria. If two bacteria would reproduce sexually, then the perfect DNA that they evolved would be messed up. While sexually reproducing organisms need to reproduce sexually so that they can evolve from bacteria like the spanish flu. For example, sometime in the 1200-1600s (IDK when) the Spanish fought a battle in which they were outnumbered like 80000 to 168, but the enemy that they were fighting, in Central America, they were so primitive and vulnerable that they were absolutely murdered by the Plague and the Spanish superior forces. So this just goes to show that both need to reproduce the way they do for a reason. Hope this helps!(6 votes)
How does parents make twins and does that happen with cells?(4 votes)- Twins happen when 2 egg cells get fertilized at the same time. Identical twins happen when a fertilized egg cell split into two.(4 votes)
- I have no question.(4 votes)
