- Books Name
- Class-8 Science Book
- Publication
- PathSet Publications
- Course
- CBSE Class 8
- Subject
- Science
How is the Sex of the Baby Determined
Determining the Sex of the Baby
- We know that there are 23 pairs of chromosomes present inside the nucleus of every human cell.
- These chromosomes have a thread-like structure and they always occur in pairs.
- The chromosomes help in determining the sex of the child.
- Out of the 23 pairs of chromosomes, 2 of them are sex chromosomes called X and Y.
- Females have two X chromosomes and males have one X and one Y chromosome.
- The gametes contain only one set of chromosomes that is either an X or a Y.
- The egg of the female contains an X chromosome always.
- However, the sperm can contain only one of the X and Y chromosomes.
- So if the sperm that contains a Y chromosome fertilizes with the egg which contains the X chromosome, the zygote develops into a male.
- On the other hand, if the sperm contains an X chromosome and fertilizers with the egg which contains an X chromosome, the zygote develops into a female.
- Hence the sex of the child depends upon the chromosomes of the father and not the mother