Meiosis in Plant Life Cycle

Steps:

• Recall plant life cycle alternates between diploid sporophyte and haploid gametophyte.
• Identify meiosis as reduction division that produces haploid spores from diploid cells.
• Locate this in sporophyte generation, typically in sporangia.
• Match diagram stage showing spore production to option A.

Why A is correct:

• Meiosis occurs in sporophyte to halve chromosome number (2n to n), forming spores per alternation of generations principle.

Why the others are wrong:

• B: Fertilization stage fuses gametes, increasing ploidy (n to 2n), no reduction.
• C: Gametophyte stage produces gametes by mitosis, maintaining haploid state.
• D: Zygote or embryo stage develops via mitosis, no chromosome reduction.

Final answer: A