Biology 12 Mitosis Assignment

Part A: Define each of the following terms.

fertilization / interphase / centrioles / genetic engineering
asexual reproduction / chromatin / spindle fibres / enucleated
sexual reproduction / centromere / spermatocytes / totipotent
mitosis / sister chromatids / blastula / biotechnology
cytokinesis

Part B: Questions:

1.List the stages of mitosis. Briefly describe that occurs in each stage. To help in your description, sketch the sequence of events that occurs in an animal cell. Include labels for different structures.

2. A cell with 10 chromosomes undergoes mitosis. Indicate how many chromosomes would be expected in each daughter cell.

3. During interphase, what event must occur for the cell to be capable of undergoing future divisions?

4. Using a dictionary, look up the meaning of the prefixes used in the stages of mitosis: (pro, meta, ana, telo). Why would they be used in the naming of the phases of mitosis?

5. Compare and contrast the structure of the daughter cells with that of the original parent cell.

6. Describe the structure and explain the function of the spindle fibres.

7. What is the significance of cytokinesis? Speculate what would happen if cytokinesis did not occur.

8. When a cell has reached its maximum size, what two alternatives does it have? When does the cell carry out one alternative over the other?

9. What would happen if you ingested a drug that prevented mitosis? What if it only prevented spindle fibre formation?

10. A cell from a tissue culture has 38 chromosomes. After mitosis and cytokinesis, one daughter cell has 39 chromosomes and the other has 37. What might have occurred to cause the abnormal chromosome numbers?

11. Suppose that during mitosis, both sister chromatids moved to the same pole, resulting in daughter cells with a different number of chromosomes than the parent cell. How might this abnormality affect cell structure, cell function, or both?

Part C: Annotate (add notes) to the following diagram of the steps in mitosis.