Oocyte and Sperm

**Fertilization** occurs when a **sperm** and an **oocyte** (egg) combine and their nuclei fuse. Because each of these reproductive cells is a haploid cell containing half of the genetic material needed to form a human being, their combination forms a diploid cell. This new single cell, called a zygote, contains all of the genetic material needed to form a human-half from the mother and half from the father.



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