🧬 Biology · Genetics
Mitosis and the Cell Cycle flashcards
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All 17 flashcards at a glance
Card 1
What is mitosis?
Division of the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell. It puts one copy of every chromosome into each of two new nuclei, so each has the same chromosome number as the parent.
Card 2
What are the two big parts of the cell cycle?
Interphase (G1, S and G2) and M phase (mitosis plus cytokinesis).
Card 3
What happens in G1?
The cell grows, makes proteins and organelles, and does its normal job. The chromosomes have not been copied yet.
Card 4
What happens in S phase?
The DNA is copied. Each chromosome becomes two identical sister chromatids joined at a centromere. The number of chromosomes does not change.
Card 5
What happens in G2?
The cell keeps growing and makes the proteins and other materials it needs for mitosis.
Card 6
What are sister chromatids?
The two identical copies of a chromosome made in S phase. They are joined at the centromere until anaphase, and together they count as one chromosome.
Card 7
What is the centromere, and why does it matter for counting?
The region where sister chromatids are joined and spindle fibers attach. The number of centromeres is the number of chromosomes.
Card 8
What is the spindle?
A structure of protein fibers (microtubules) that forms in mitosis and moves the chromosomes toward the two poles of the cell.
Card 9
What happens in prophase?
The chromatin coils into visible chromosomes (each with two sister chromatids), the spindle begins to form, and the nuclear envelope breaks down.
Card 10
What happens in metaphase?
The chromosomes line up along the middle of the cell, with the sister chromatids of each attached to spindle fibers from opposite poles.
Card 11
What happens in anaphase?
The centromeres split and the sister chromatids separate. Each is now a chromosome, and spindle fibers pull them toward opposite poles.
Card 12
What happens in telophase?
The chromosomes reach the poles and uncoil, new nuclear envelopes form around each set, and the spindle breaks down. The cell has two nuclei.
Card 13
How does cytokinesis differ in animal and plant cells?
Animal cell: a cleavage furrow pinches the cell in two. Plant cell: a cell plate builds a new wall across the middle.
Card 14
A cell has 10 chromosomes in G1. How many chromatids does it have at prophase, and how many chromosomes does the cell hold in anaphase?
At prophase: 20 chromatids (10 chromosomes, each with 2 sister chromatids). In anaphase: 20 chromosomes in the cell (10 at each pole).
Card 15
What does mitosis produce?
Two genetically identical daughter cells with the same chromosome number as the parent cell.
Card 16
What are three jobs of cell division?
Growth, repair and replacement of cells, and asexual reproduction in some organisms.
Card 17
What does PMAT stand for, and what comes before it?
Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase, Telophase, the four stages of mitosis in order. Interphase comes before PMAT and is not part of mitosis.