How many nuclear divisions occur during meiosis?

Meiosis consists of two distinct nuclear divisions, known as meiosis I and meiosis II. During meiosis I, homologous chromosomes are separated into different cells, which reduces the chromosome number by half—a critical step in the formation of gametes (sperm and eggs). Specifically, this division starts with a diploid cell (containing two sets of chromosomes) and results in two haploid cells (containing one set of chromosomes), each with half the original amount of genetic material.

Following this, meiosis II occurs, which closely resembles a mitotic division where the sister chromatids of each haploid cell are separated. This results in four haploid gametes, but the key point here is that there are still just two nuclear divisions involved in the entire process: meiosis I and meiosis II. Thus, the correct understanding of the number of nuclear divisions in meiosis is two, as each division plays a crucial role in ensuring genetic diversity and the proper distribution of chromosomes to the resulting gametes.