Mitosis and meiosis are both important for living things to grow and have babies, but they do different jobs.

Mitosis

• Purpose: This process helps living things grow, heal injuries, and can also create new cells without needing a mate.
• Outcome: Mitosis makes two new cells that are identical to each other. They have the same number of chromosomes as the original cell ($2n$).

Meiosis

• Purpose: This process makes special cells called gametes, which are needed for sexual reproduction (like making babies).
• Outcome: Meiosis creates four new cells that are different from each other, and each one has half the number of chromosomes ($n$) compared to the original cell.

Why Chromosome Numbers Matter

• In mitosis, the number of chromosomes stays the same. In meiosis, the number is cut in half. This is really important for keeping the right genetic balance in future generations.

Both of these processes show how amazing genetics is and how traits, including those linked to sex, are passed down!