Begin by understanding the key processes involved in both mitosis and meiosis. Mitosis is a type of cell division that results in two daughter cells each having the same number and kind of chromosomes as the parent nucleus, typical of ordinary tissue growth. Meiosis, on the other hand, is a type of cell division that reduces the chromosome number by half, creating four haploid cells, each genetically distinct from the parent cell, which is essential for sexual reproduction.