Myrmecia pilosula actually consists of several virtually identical, closely related species of ants, with females having chromosome numbers of 18, 20, 32, 48, 60, 62, and 64. the males are haploid, and each gamete contains the n complement. assume one crossed a female of species (a) with 32 chromosomes and a male species (b) with 9 chromosomes. how many chromosomes would one expect in the body (somatic) cells of the female offspring

Chromosomes are molecules that contain DNA molecules packaged around histone proteins. The number of chromosomes determines whether a cell is diploid (2n) or haploid (n). In this case, the gametes from an ant female with 32 chromosomes will be haploid (n) meaning they will have 16 chromosomes and the male with 9 chromosomes will still have the same number of chromosomes since the male are haploid. When the two mate the somatic cells will have 25 chromosomes . Therefore, the answer is 25 chromosomes.