Sparknotes SAT Bio Test Question

Test Preparation SAT Subject Test Preparation
1

<p>On test 3, there was a question that said </p>

<p>"In human males, how many total chromosomes are eventually produced from a single germ cell after spermatogenesis?</p>

<pre><code>(A) 12
(B) 23
(C) 46
(D) 69
(E) 92
</code></pre>

<p>The answer was 92.</p>

<p>now...if "germ cell" said "spermatogonium" then i would've picked 92 instantly. but the phrase 'germ cell' made me hesitate because I always thought germ cells were always haploid...so it wouldn't make sense that they make 92 total chromosomes after meiosis.</p>

<p>I checked a previous test that asked...</p>

<p>"The number of chromosomes found in a human germ cell is</p>

<pre><code>(A) 46
(B) 23
(C) 48
(D) 20
(E) 44 "
</code></pre>

<p>The answer was B, 23. so my question is...can germ cells ever be diploid if they're dealing with spermato/oogenesis? or is this a mistake with the test?</p>

2

<p>It’s 23 times 4 for that answer because the result is 4 daughter cells with a haploid set each. I’m pretty sure.</p>

3

<p>yeah true but im just referring to the world “single germ cell” that they used in the question. Because if a germ cell is haploid then the question wouldn’t really make sense</p>

4

<p>Yeah, I get it. Well, during spermatogenesis the germ cell is the spermatogonium which is diploid. I think when they said germ cell, undergoing that process they were also testing if you knew what type of germ cell it starts out as.</p>