Cell division and reproduction can occur in two ways: mitosis and meiosis. Mitosis is a process of cell duplication, or reproduction, during which one cell splits into two genetically identical daughter cells. Meiosis, on the other hand, is the division of a germ cell. In meiosis, there are two fissions of the nucleus, which results in four gametes, each with half the number of chromosomes of the original cell. Mitosis is occurs when single celled organisms reproduce, and during the growth and repair of a multi-cellular organism. Meiosis is essential for the sexual reproduction of multi-cellular organisms.

Comparison chart

	Meiosis	Mitosis
Definition:	A type of cellular reproduction in which the number of chromosomes is reduced by half via the separation of homologous chromosomes	A type of asexual reproduction in which the cell divides into two identical cells, with an equal number of chromosomes in each resulting cell.
Function:	sexual reproduction	Cellular reproduction, including growth and repair of the body of multi-cellular organisms
Type of Reproduction:	Sexual	Asexual
Occurs in:	Humans, animals, plants, fungi	all organisms
Genetically:	different	identical
Number of Divisions:	2	1
Chromosome Number:	Reduced by half	Remains the same
Creates:	Sex cells: egg cells or sperm cells	All other cells