Question

Is reproduction synonymous with growth in a unicellular organism?

Answer 1

Reproduction:

1. It is a biological process where new individuals known as offspring are produced from their parents.
2. Reproduction is of two forms- asexual and sexual.
3. Asexual reproduction takes place without the help of another organism.
4. In asexual reproduction, an organism creates a genetically identical copy of itself.
5. Sexual reproduction requires the fusion of two gametes- one from a male and the other from a female.
6. The offsprings produced have genetic characteristics from both the parental organisms.

Unicellular organisms:

1. Unicellular organisms are organisms that have a single cell.
2. Each cell carries out all the life processes by itself to survive.
3. They reproduce by binary fission.
4. In binary fission, a single cell divides giving rise to two daughter cells.
5. Both reproduction and growth in unicellular organisms aim to produce new organisms from existing ones hence both processes are synonymous.