Step 1: Understand the moss life cycle, which alternates between two generations: the haploid gametophyte and the diploid sporophyte. This alternation is called alternation of generations.
Step 2: Begin with the sporophyte generation. The sporophyte is diploid and produces haploid spores through meiosis. This is the first major event in the cycle.
Step 3: The haploid spores germinate and grow into the gametophyte generation. The gametophyte is responsible for producing gametes (sperm and egg cells) through mitosis.
Step 4: Fertilization occurs when a sperm cell from the male gametophyte fuses with an egg cell from the female gametophyte, forming a diploid zygote.
Step 5: The zygote develops into a new sporophyte, completing the cycle and starting the process again.