How many chromosomes are there in an unfertilized egg cell?

23

An unfertilized egg, or ovum, contains 23 chromosomes, which are paired with the 23 chromosomes from a sperm during fertilization. These chromosomes are paired up to determine the unborn child’s physical characteristics, including gender, skin tone, eye color, hair color, and more. The chromosomes contained in an unfertilized egg, as well as in a sperm cell, are completely random. This means that different children from the same mother and father will get different combinations of their parents’ chromosomes.

This is why siblings tend to look similar to one another, as well as similar to their parents, but none of them are identical. An unfertilized egg contains one X chromosome that contributes to determining the baby’s gender; however, because the woman can only contribute X chromosomes, the gender is truly determined by whether the sperm contributes to an "X" or a "Y" chromosome.