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H1 Biology 8876 · Nov 2023BiologyPaper 1Most challenging

Paper 1 Q16 — Errors in meiosis

Meiosis — non-disjunction can put an extra copy of a chromosome into gametes

What the examiners said

“Few candidates recognised that errors in meiosis could result in the doubling up of a single chromosome seen in all three sets of chromosomes.”

Try the question

A karyotype shows an extra copy of one particular chromosome. Which process best explains this?
Examiner report: “Few recognised that a meiosis error (non-disjunction) can double up a single chromosome.”

Explore — non-disjunction in meiosis

Compare normal separation with non-disjunction. Watch how a failure to separate sends an extra chromosome into a gamete, leading to three copies after fertilisation.

The extra whole chromosome comes from a separation error in meiosis — not from mutation, crossing over, or normal assortment.

Original reconstruction inspired by the misconceptions described in the Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-Level H1 Biology 8876 November 2023 Examiner Report. Not the actual examination question. For classroom exploration.

Made by lookang, using Claude Fable 5. More resources: iwant2study.org