Download Mitosis Essential Questions—use these essential

Mitosis Essential Questions—use these essential questions from the biology curriculum map to help
be sure that you have mastered all of the concepts of this unit.
1. What is the difference between binary fission and mitosis?
2. What is the difference between asexual and sexual reproduction?
3. Why do bacteria do binary fission instead of mitosis?
4. Why do multicellular organisms do mitosis?
5. Why do unicellular organisms do mitosis?
6. What are the phases of mitosis and what happens to the chromosomes in each phase? What are
the end results of mitosis?
7. What is cancer and how are cancer cells different than normal cells?
8. How is cancer treated?
9. Why can some types of cancers be prevented by vaccines?
10. Why do sex cells have half the number of chromosomes as body cells?
11. How do homologous chromosomes show independent assortment?
12. How many genetically different sex cells can a person make and why?
13. How do different genes end up in different sex cells during meiosis?
14. What are the end results of meiosis?
15. How do sperm and egg production differ?
16. What are the major similarities and differences between mitosis and meiosis?
Mitosis Vocabulary—Create a graphic organizer of your choice (Concept map, Prezi, flash cards, etc) to
help you study these vocabulary terms.
1. anaphase – spindle pull chromatids to opposite ends of the cell
2. asexual reproduction – reproduction that requires only one parent and no sex; offspring are
clones of the parent
3. cancer – excessive cell division where damaged cells lose their ability to control division
4. centrioles – cell structure used to make spindle fiber in animal cells
5. chromatids – sister pieces (identical copies) of DNA that make up a duplicated chromosome
6. chromosome – a long strand of DNA; humans have 46 chromosomes
7. cleavage furrow – the indentation that forms during telophase in animal cells
8. cytokinesis – division of cytoplasm
9. diploid – total number of chromosomes in an organism that has two copies of every
chromosome; 46 for normal humans
10. DNA – deoxyribonucleic acid; the genetic material that gets put into each new cell during cell
division
11. egg – female sex cell (ovum)
12. fertilization – the fusing of an sperm with an egg, which combines mother’s and father’s DNA to
make a baby
13. gametes – sex cells
14. haploid – number of pairs of chromosomes in a diploid organism; half the total number; 23 for
normal humans
15. independent assortment – homologous chromosomes separate independently from one
another during meiosis
16. interphase – phase when cells do their normal jobs; cell prepares for division by DNA replication
17. karyotype – picture of chromosomes used to determine if there is a chromosomal problem
18. meiosis – when a cell divides to make four sex cells that have half the number of chromosomes
as the original cell
19. metaphase – chromosomes line up in the middle of the cell with spindle attached to them
20. mitosis – when a cell divides to make two identical cells that are the same as the original cell
21. nuclear membrane – structure that surrounds the nucleus
22. nucleus – structure which contains DNA (chromosomes)
23. ovaries – female sex organ that produces eggs
24. prophase – first phase of mitosis; cell breaks down nucleus to prepare for chromosomes to
move, spindle fibers form and centrioles separate
25. sexual reproduction – reproduction that requires two parents and sex to make offspring that are
a genetic mixture of the two parents
26. sperm – male sex cell
27. spindle fiber – rope-like fibers that move chromosomes during division
28. telophase – two new nuclei form around each set of chromatids at each end of the cell;
cytokinesis begins
29. testes – male sex organ that produces sperm
30. zygote – early stages of developing organism (before birth)