Explain why meiosis produces cells that are genetically different from each other, while mitosis produces cells that are genetically identical to the parent cell.

Meiosis involves two successive divisions (meiosis I and meiosis II) and therefore produces four cells. During meiosis I homologous chromosomes are separated and the chromosomes are shuffled by crossing‑over and independent assortment, so each daughter cell receives a different combination of chromosomes and ends up with half the chromosome number (haploid). In contrast, mitosis consists of one division in which the replicated chromosomes are copied exactly and then equally divided between two cells. The two daughter cells therefore have the same chromosome number as the parent (diploid) and contain the same genetic material. Hence mitotic cells are genetically identical to the parent, whereas meiotic cells are genetically different from each other.