Why are more cells produced as a result of Meiosis (compared with mitosis) but they contain fewer chromosomes?

The reason for this is due to the process of Meiosis involving an additional cell division step.Mitosis involves 1 cell, which replicates it's DNA resulting in there being 2 'full sets' of chromosomes contained before division. This cell then divides therefore resulting in 2 cells, which each contain one full chromosome set. This is occuring all the time in cells within our body- these are known as somatic cells. These cells are referred to as diploid as they contain the full set of chromosomes. The reason that Meiosis leads to 4 cells being produced is because it undergoes an additional division. Again it begins with 1 cell, the DNA replicates resulting in 2 'full sets' of chromosomes. This cell divides and leads to 2 cells, each with a full set of chromosomes. But then comes the difference to Mitosis...so these 2 cells then divide again however there is NO replication beforehand. This means that 4 cells will be produced as a result of these cells dividing, and rather than containing a full set (as in Mitosis) these 4 cells will only contain a half set of chromosomes. Meiosis occurs in germ cells, so the egg and sperm cells. These cells are referred to as Haploid, as they contain half the amount of chromosomes.So in conclusion to your question- the key to remember is that Meiosis involves 2 divisions whereas Mitosis involves only one. *I would probably draw this out as I find it much easier to explain/understand