Reproductive cells in animals, called gametes, are examples of haploid cells. Both male and female reproductive cells, known respectively as sperm and egg cells, are haploid in that they each possess one copy of each type of chromosome that, when joined with other haploid cells, forms a single, complete chromosome set.
What does it mean when a cell is haploid?
In particular, a human germ cell (a sperm or an egg cell) is haploid, which means it contains only one of each of the 23 chromosomes of the human genome, or it only has half the diploid (2n) number of a human somatic cell (which is 46). Gametes being haploid are essential particularly during fertilization.
What kind of cells are diploid and haploid?
Diploid cells comprise the majority of your body, while examples of haploid cells are eggs and sperm. If a haploid cell has n chromosomes, a diploid cell has 2n (n represents a number, which is different for every species – in humans, for example, n = 23 and 2n = 46). Both diploid and haploid cells can undergo mitosis.