What are gametes?

Gametes are specifically the reproductive cells that are involved in sexual reproduction, which include eggs in females and sperm in males. These cells carry half the genetic information necessary to form a new individual, combining during fertilization to create a zygote with a complete set of chromosomes.

In the context of human biology, gametes are produced through a special type of cell division known meiosis, which reduces the chromosome number by half from the diploid state to the haploid state. This process ensures that when the egg and sperm merge, the resulting zygote has the correct diploid number of chromosomes.

The other options refer to different biological concepts that do not describe gametes accurately. Full sets of chromosomes refer to somatic cells, which contain two complete sets (diploid) of chromosomes. Somatic cells are all the other body cells excluding gametes, while stem cells are undifferentiated cells with the potential to develop into various specialized cell types. Thus, the understanding of gametes as reproductive cells is crucial for grasping fundamental concepts in genetics and reproductive biology.