define diploid and haploid as pertains to chromsomes?

Answer 1

First, you need to know what a chromosome set is. Humans have 23 different chromosomes. Scientists define this base number - the # of cs without duplication - as n. So, for humans, n = 23.
However, most organisms (including us) have two sets of chromosomes in somatic (body) cells. Than means, for most cells, 2n = 46. We get one pair of cs from our mothers and one from our fathers. It's a good idea to have this redundancy in the chromosomes, since if one cs has a bad allele copy for a gene, the other cs might have a good copy, and certain genetic disorders can be avoided.
These somatic cells are called diploid = 2n.
Germ or sex cells are different. If every time an organism reproduced, it gave a double set (2n) of cs to the child, then the child would have 4n chromosomes. To avoid this catastrophe, some cells undergo meiosis, which creates four haploid sex cells from a single diploid cell. Each haploid cell has one set of cs: haploid = n.

Recap: it has to do with the # of complete sets of chromosomes. Haploid = n = one set; diploid = 2n = two sets.

Answer 2

Diploid is the number of chromosomes in a full cell. In us its 46 chromosome pairs.

Haploid cells are gametes. They contain half the chromosomal information. In us our gametes have 23.

Answer 3

dipliod chromosomes that are made during the process of mitosis. haploid chromosomes are diploid chromosomes that are split in half during the process of meiosis.

:)

*Mary~