Cell Division, Cell Cycle, Mitosis, and Meiosis WebQuest
Name _______________________________
Previous Knowledge:
1. How would you describe the process by which a unicellular organism increases its size?
2. Why do cells stay small?
Lesson 10.1 Cell Growth, Division, & Reproduction:
Lesson Summary: Limits to Cell Size
There are two main reasons why cells divide: 1) either because of “information overload” or 2) because of material
exchange issues. The larger a cell becomes, the more demands it puts on its DNA. A larger cell is inefficient in
moving nutrients and waste products across the cell membrane. When a cell gets so large that it has put too many
demands on its DNA, the cell has to divide. Cells also divide to resolve material exchange issues because cells need
to take in nutrients and eliminate wastes through the cell membrane. As the cell gets larger, these processes
become less efficient: the larger a cell’s volume, the more materials it needs to function and consequently, the
more wastes it produces. If a cell’s volume increases at a faster rate than its surface area, its surface-area-tovolume ratio becomes too small; and the larger a cell gets, the harder it is for enough materials to move across its
cell membrane. Cell division solves the information overload and materials exchange problems.
QUICKLAB: Read the QuickLab above & answer these questions.
a. What safety precautions are required for this simple lab? ____________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
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b. What materials are required for the lab? Be sure to include safety gear. ________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
c. What is your prediction, or hypothesis, for this lab? What do you think will happen? Be
specific. ___________________________________________________________________
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Now we are going to do this QuickLab. While waiting the 10 minutes in the activity, answer the following
questions.
1.
Describe “information overload” in your own words.
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
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__________________________________________________________________________
2. In the table below, calculate the Surface Area to Volume Ratio for each “cell”. Answer the
questions below the table.
Small Cube
Medium Cube
Large Cube
Surface Area
(A = ___ X ___ X ___sides)
Volume
(V = ___ l X ___ w X ___ h)
Surface Area: Volume Ratio
(Surface Area : Volume)
a. What are your observations? ________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
b. What are the ratios comparing? ______________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
c. Which ratio is the best? Why? ______________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Back to the QuickLab: Record your Observations, Analysis, & Conclusions below by answering the questions at
the end of the QuickLab.
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Cell Division and Reproduction Summary: Cell division is part of both types of reproduction.
 Asexual Reproduction:
 Produces genetically identical organisms
 Occurs in many single-celled organisms and in some multicellular organisms
 Allows rapid reproduction of organisms in favorable environments
 Sexual Reproduction:
 Produces organisms with genetic information from both parents
 Occurs in most animals and plants; and in many single-celled organisms
 Increases genetic diversity, which aids species survival in changing environments
Follow-up Questions: True or False: Correct the FALSE statements by changing words to make the
statement TRUE.
____________ 1. As a cell’s size increases, its amount of DNA increases.
____________ 2. The amount of activity in a cell is related to its volume.
____________ 3. The smaller the cell, the smaller its surface area to volume ratio.
____________ 4. The information overload in a cell is solved by the replication of the DNA before cell division.
Lesson 10.2 The Process of Cell Division
Prokaryotic Cell Division:
Go to the following sites to learn about prokaryote cells:
 Cells Alive
 Wikipedia: Binary Fission
1. Name three ways prokaryote cells differ from eukaryote cells (name characteristics of the prokaryote cells):
1. ________________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________________________
2. Draw a prokaryote cell:
Prokaryote cells use a process called binary fission to divide. Go to the following site for the definition of binary
fission: Binary Fission Definition
3. Binary fission is _______________________________________________________________________
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Watch the animation on binary fission: Binary Fission Animation and click on “Prokaryotic Cell Division”
4. Describe what you saw in the animation. How does binary fission work: _______________________________
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Eukaryotic Cell Division:
There are several reasons for the cell to divide. Two reasons are shown at the following website:
Why Eukaryotic Cells Divide
5. Name the two reasons shown for cell division.
a. __________________________________________________________________________
b. __________________________________________________________________________
There are several parts of the cell involved in cell division. Click on the parts shown at the following site and read
what they do. Parts of the Cell Involved in Cell Division
6. List the four organelles involved in cell division. What does each organelle do???
a. __________________________________________________________________________
b. __________________________________________________________________________
c. __________________________________________________________________________
d. __________________________________________________________________________
DNA can take many forms. When the cell is resting, it takes the form of chromatin. Look at chromatin in the
following site: Chromatin Image
7. Describe the appearance of chromatin? ______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
When the cell needs to divide, the DNA must coil up tightly into chromosomes. When DNA has not copied itself,
the chromosomes will only have one strand. These strands are called chromatids. After DNA replicates, each
strand (chromatid) has a twin that is attached to it. These pairs of twin chromatids are called sister chromatids.
Sister chromatids are connected by a centromere. See what chromatids and sister chromatids look like on the
following site: Chromatids & Their Sisters
8. Draw and label a picture of the sister chromatids and the centromere.
Stages of Mitosis: Go to the following website: Cells Alive: Mitosis
On the left side of the screen is a navigation bar, click on the link to “MITOSIS”. View the animation and read the
text below the animation on this page.
9. List the stages of mitosis (Notice – there’s an extra phase here…”prometaphase” – sometimes that is added as
an “in-between” phase between prophase and metaphase. In my class you are only responsible for knowing PMAT)
a.
b.
c.
d.
P_________________________________________________________________________
M_________________________________________________________________________
A_________________________________________________________________________
T_________________________________________________________________________
10. In
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


which stage does each of the following occur???
Chromatin condenses into chromosomes.
Chromosomes align in center of the cell.
Longest part of the cell cycle.
Nuclear Envelope breaks down.
11. Identify the stages of mitosis in these cells:
a.______________
b._______________
c._______________
d. _______________
Onion Root Tip - Online Lab Activity: Onion Root Tip Cell Cycle
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Read the introduction, then click the “next” button.
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Check out the different phases & read them & hit “next”.
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Read the “assignment” then hit “next”
You will have 36 cells to classify. When you're finished, record your data in the chart below.
Interphase
Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telophase
# of Cells
% of Cells
(Calculate percentage: number of cells divided by total cells x 100)
12. What do you notice about the stages from your calculations in the table?
13. What did you notice about the difference between Interphase & Prophase?
Total
36
100%
Stages of Meiosis: Internet Investigation
Go to Stages of Meiosis Animation and watch the animation. Then click on the arrow to learn about meiosis.
1. What is the purpose of Meiosis and in what parts of the body does it occur???
________________________________________________________________________________
2. With how many chromosomes does the cell in this animation begin? ______________________________
3. The homologous pairs are represented by similar ___________________________________________
4. Copies of chromosomes are held together by the ___________________________________________
5. Each chromosome finds its ___________________________________________________________
6. Draw “crossing over” – using your pencil to shade in the areas that exchange parts.
7. How many chromosomes are at each pole of the cell? ________________________________________
8. During meiosis 2, chromosomes line up again along the cell’s ____________________________________
9. Only _________ copy of each chromosome moves toward the poles, which means only _______________
chromosomes of the original ________ chromosomes.
10. New membranes form around each _____________________________________________________.
11. Each cell divides, forming a total of _________________________________________________ cells.
Mitosis vs. Meiosis:
1. Go to: Nova: How Cells Divide and Click on “How Cells Divide”. Read the Introduction and then click on
“Mitosis vs. Meiosis”.
2. After viewing the animation. Fill out the chart below, by placing a check in the box or boxes.
Event
Two Cell Divisions
Centrioles Appear
Chromosomes Pair UP
Spindle Fibers Form
Cytokinesis
Four Daughter Cells
Mitosis
Meiosis
Both