A multicellular organism begins life as a single cell- a fertilized egg with a complete set of chromosomes. The first cell of life divides to become two cells, then four cells, eight cells, and so on. Which of the following statements best describes what happens during this process?
a. Chromosomes are duplicated before cell division so that each daughter cell has a complete set.
b. Chromosomes are divided evenly during cell division so that each new daughter cell has an equal share of the original set.
c. Chromosomes are stored in the original cell to direct the division of all daughter cells which do not have their own chromosomes.
d. Chromosomes are randomly distributed during cell division so that some new cells have partial sets while others have complete sets.
Answer: a