Organisms can reproduce asexually or sexually. All BUT ONE of the steps below is involved in sexual reproduction. Which step
describes asexual rather than sexual reproduction?
The sperm fertilizes the egg to produce a zygote.
Egg and sperm receive chromosomes from each parent.
In some organisms, a piece of the parent may bud off to produce offspring.
The zygote undergoes cell division and cell differentiation to become a
new and different organism from the parents.

In some organisms, a piece of the parent may bud off to produce offspring.

Explanation:

This is asexual because asexual reproduction does not involve the fusion of gametes or change in the number of chromosomes, like sexual reproduction. In asexual reproduction, the offspring arises from cell division during mitosis, which is what is being described here.

"among the transition metal elements, manganese and zinc have a slight lowering of electronegativities. the reason behind this is that the nuclear charges of these elements are slightly weaker than the other transition metal elements due to the way their valence electrons are filled up. both manganese and zinc have their valence electrons filled up to the 4th shell with 1 pair of electrons (4s2) completely occupying it. although the electrons in the 3rd shell (3d) are yet to be paired since the outer most shell is filled up, the ability of the nucleus to attract electrons is lessened. hence,   the electronegativity (or the ability to attract electrons) is lessened."