Why are gametes made through meiosis, rather than mitosis?

1. Meiosis conserves energy by producing smaller cells than mitosis
   
   
2. Meiosis is a faster process than mitosis, allowing more cells to be made in the same amount of time
   
   
3. Meiosis results in cells that have half the normal number of chromosomes, rather than two, making offspring that have the normal number of chromosomes
   
   
4. DNA is copied much more carefully in meiosis than in mitosis, making cells that have fewer mutations