Which process results in genetic variation among offspring?

Meiosis is the process that results in genetic variation among offspring. This is primarily because meiosis involves two key mechanisms: independent assortment and crossing over.

During independent assortment, the chromosomes are randomly distributed into gametes. This random distribution allows for a mix of maternal and paternal chromosomes to be represented in each gamete, creating different combinations of alleles.

Crossing over occurs during prophase I of meiosis, where homologous chromosomes exchange segments of genetic material. This recombination of genes between the homologous chromosomes results in new allele combinations, thereby increasing genetic diversity.

In contrast, mitosis, fission, and cloning are processes that generally produce genetically identical offspring, lacking the genetic variation seen in meiosis. Mitosis creates two identical daughter cells, fission replicates a single organism into two genetically identical organisms, and cloning results in an exact genetic copy of the original organism. Therefore, none of these processes contribute to genetic variation in the same way that meiosis does.