How can Mendel's law of independent assortment be explained in terms of genes and meiosis?

Mendel's law of independent assortment basically says that each chromosome pair will separate during meiosis individually, regardless of whether the chromosome originated maternally or paternally. So for example, if there are two pairs of chromosomes, 1 and 2, and each have a maternal and paternal copy (1M, 1P, 2M, and 2P), pairs 1 and 2 will segregate without input from the other pair. So during meiosis, when the a haploid cell is formed with only one chromosome copy, there are many different combinations that can be formed. The cell could contain 1M/2M, 1M/2P, 1P/2M, or 1P/2P. It is easy to see how organisms with more chromosome pairs (humans have 23 pairs, 46 total) will produce more combinations, hence diversity among the species. Hope that helps!

Mendel's Law of Independent Assortment says that the way one pair of factors separates doesn't affect how another pair of factors separates. Mendel made up this law based on his experiments even though he knew nothing about chromosomes or meiosis ... which was pretty incredible. In meiosis, the homologous chromosomes have the two factors or genes for a trait. In meiosis I, the homologous chromosomes synapse, line up on the equator of the spindle, and are pulled apart or separated from each other during anaphase. Since the genes are on the chromosomes, the genes are doing exactly what Mendel described. The way that one pair of chromosomes separates doesn't affect the way another pair separated. There's no rule that says which way the pairs have to line up on the equator, so each pair is free to separate in whatever random way they are attached to the spindle's equator.

see curious