Question

Mutations are changes to genes that can be categorized as harmful, beneficial, or neutral. Harmful mutations negatively affect an organism’s ability to survive or reproduce, while beneficial mutations create an advantage in the affected organism. Neutral mutations do not harm or help the affected organism.



Sea stars are able to reproduce by spawning, when females release eggs into the water that are fertilized by male sea stars' sperm. Sea stars can also reproduce through binary fission, or regeneration, when a central part of a sea star is broken off and grows into a new sea star.

Two sea stars from the same population have a mutation. The mutation affects the color of the sea stars. The diagram shows a chromosome with the affected gene present.



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Both of the sea stars affected by the mutation reproduce and create offspring. The parent sea stars pass on genes to their offspring. The diagrams show a chromosome from each sea star parent and a resulting chromosome from their three offspring.



Parent 1



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Parent 2



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Which statement correctly describes the reproduction methods of the parent sea stars in the passage?


Both Parent 1 and Parent 2 undergo sexual reproduction to produce their offspring.


Both Parent 1 and Parent 2 undergo asexual reproduction to produce their offspring.


Parent 1 undergoes sexual reproduction, while Parent 2 undergoes asexual reproduction to produce their offspring.


Parent 1 undergoes asexual reproduction, while Parent 2 undergoes sexual reproduction to produce their offspring.

Answer 1

Parent 1 undergoes asexual reproduction, while Parent 2 undergoes sexual reproduction to produce their offspring.

Explanation: Asexual reproduction produces offspring genetically identical to the single parent (offspring chromosomes match Parent 1), while sexual reproduction produces offspring with mixed chromosomes from two parents (offspring of Parent 2 show genetic variation consistent with fertilization).