Cell Cycle Lab Instructions
Edited from an idea by Kelly Nelson
Purpose: During this activity you are going to manipulate pieces to resemble and learn the basic steps of the cell cycle.
The purpose of cell division is for asexual reproduction in one celled animals (binary fisshion), growth in multicelled
organisms, and replacement of damaged cells in multicelled organisms.You will start at interphase and finish with
cytokinesis.
Materials/What Part They Represent:
1 long piece of yarn = cell membrane
pennies = centrioles
8 lengths of popbeads = chromosomes
4 magnets-= centromere
chalk
Set Up Procedure:
1. Form a cell membrane with the long piece of yarn/string by making a loop on your desk.
2. Form the nuclear membrane by drawing (write on the table) a smaller circle inside the cell membrane with
chalk.
Interphase
During interphase (G1, S, and G2) the cell is busy preparing for cell division; the chromosomes are not visible yet. More
specifically, the cell will be busy doing the following: growing, copying the DNA and duplicating the organelles.
Interphase Procedure:
1. Match the popbeads strings by color and attach them together with the magnets making 4 chromosomes.
2. Place the chromosomes within the nuclear membrane in a pile because they are not visible yet. This represents
the chromatin (unwound chromosomes)
3. Put the centrioles (pennies) in the correct area of the cell.
4. With chalk, label he following things: cell membrane, nucleus, nuclear membrane, centrioles, and chromatin
5. Check your answers with textbook pictures and write down any errors
***Time to answer questions #1, 2, 3, and 4 on the worksheet you will hand in***
Mitosis
The cell will now enter what is known as the M phase of the cell cycle, or mitosis. During mitosis, the nucleus and its
contents will be divided into two nuclei with equal amounts of chromosomes (DNA) in each. The cell itself will not
actually divide until later. Mitosis consists of 4 stages: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase.
***Time to answer questions #5 and 6 on the worksheet you will hand in.***
1st –Prophase
During prophase, the first stage of mitosis, the following things occur:
 Centrioles begin moving to opposite sides of the cell.


Spindle fibers start to appear
The nuclear membrane breaks apart in this stage.
Prophase Procedure:
1. Arrange the chromosomes so they are visible.
2. Arrange the centrioles in your cell.
3. Sketch in the spindle fibers as they would appear with the chalk.
4. Erase part of your nuclear membrane so that is appears as a “dashed” circle.
5. With the chalk, label the following things: cell membrane, nuclear membrane, chromosomes, and spindle fibers
6. Check your answers with textbook pictures and write down any errors.
***Time to answer questions #7 and #8 on the worksheet you will hand in.***
2nd--Metaphase
During metaphase, the second stage of mitosis, the following things happen:
 Chromosomes line up in the center of the cell.
 Spindle fibers attach to each chromosome at the centromere and extend out to the centrioles
Metaphase Procedure:
1. Line the chromosomes up in the center of the cell.
2. Erase the previously drawn spindle fibers and redraw them as described above.
3. With the chalk, label the following things: cell membrane, chromosomes, centrioles, spindle fibers, and
centromere.
4. Check your answers with textbook pictures and write down any errors
***Time to answer question #9***
3rd--Anaphase
During anaphase, the third stage of mitosis, the following things happen:
 The sister chromatids of the chromosomes split apart.
 The chromatids then move to opposite ends of the cell.
Anaphase Procedure:
1. Separate the magnets moving the popbead lengths apart and move one piece (chromatid) to one side of the cell
and the other piece (chromatid) to the opposite end of the cell.
2. As you move chromosomes apart, to show that they have split and are migrating to opposite sides, redraw the
spindle fibers shorter to show they have shrunk and are pulling the chromatids in opposite directions.
3. With chalk label the following things: cell membrane, chromatids, centrioles, and spindle fibers.
4. Check your answers with textbook pictures and write down any errors
***Time to answer question #10***
4th--Telophase
During telophase, the fourth stage of mitosis, the following things happen:
 The nuclear membrane begins to reform (one on each side).
 The spindle fibers disappear in this stage.
 The chromosomes become unwound again (chromatin)
Telophase Procedure:
1. Erase the spindle fibers.
2. Redraw the nuclear membrane in each side. Place the chromatids in a pile.
3. With the chalk, label the following things: cell membrane, nuclear membranes, and chromatin
4. Check your answers with textbook pictures and writer down any errors
***Time to answer question #11***
Cytokinesis
This stage is the last part of the cell cycle. During this time the cytoplasm will divide. Once cytokinesis is complete,
the cell has completed the entire cell cycle. The result is two new identical cells, each with their own nucleus and
DNA.
Cytokinesis Procedure:
1. Pinch the long piece of yearn together it the middle.
2. With the chalk, label the following things: cell membranes, nuclear membranes, and chromatin.
3. Check your answers with textbook pictures
***Time to answer question #12***
Name:______________________Hour:________________
Cell Cycle Lab Worksheet
As you compare your cells to the textbook write down any errors you had made below.
Interphase:
Mitosis
Prophase:
Metaphase:
Anaphase:
Telophase:
Cytokinesis:
1. Name the 2 major things that happen during interphase:
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2. Sketch one of your chromosomes below and label: chromosome, centromere and sister
chromatids.
3. In the sketch you drew for #2, What process created the sister chromatids?
_____________________________
4. What does the genetic material look like in Interphase? _____________________
5. Define mitosis:_____________________________________________________
6. List the stages of mitosis in order:______________________________________
7. What does the genetic material look like in prophase? ______________________
8. Where is the genetic material located in prophase? _________________________
9. Where is the genetic material located in metaphase? ________________________
10. Where is the genetic material located in anaphase? _________________________
11. Where is the genetic material located in telophase? _________________________
12. Define cytokinesis:___________________________________________________