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Grade 10 Advanced About 15 min Version 1 Awaiting review Premium

Cell division: the stages of mitosis

Cells divide so that living things can grow and repair themselves. In mitosis one cell divides into two new cells, each with exactly the same chromosomes as the parent. First the cell copies its DNA (interphase). Then the chromosomes coil up and become visible (prophase), line up across the middle of the cell (metaphase), have their two copies pulled to opposite ends (anaphase), and two new nuclei form (telophase). Finally the cytoplasm divides (cytokinesis). Meiosis is a different division, in the sex organs, that makes four gametes each with half the number of chromosomes: 23 instead of 46 in humans.

What you will learn

  • Identify the stages of mitosis in microscope images.
  • Put the stages of mitosis in order.
  • Compare mitosis with meiosis.

Before you start

  • Know that chromosomes are made of DNA and are found in the nucleus.

Materials

  • Prepared slide of an onion root tip, stained

Equipment

  • Compound microscope

Procedure

  1. Choose a stage card and look at what the chromosomes are doing under the microscope.
  2. Place each stage in order, from a resting cell to two new cells.