In meiosis, what happens during the first meiotic division?

Homologous chromosome pairs separate into two cells

Explanation

During the first meiotic division, homologous chromosome pairs (each consisting of two chromatids) are pulled apart and distributed into two cells. This is what halves the chromosome number - each resulting cell gets one chromosome from each homologous pair, along with its duplicate chromatid. The second meiotic division then separates the sister chromatids, similar to mitosis.