Name: ______________________________________
Observing Mitosis: A Virtual Lab
Pre-Lab:
1. What are the 3 main stages of the cell cycle? _____________________________________________
2. In which stage does the cell spend most of its life? _________________________________________
3. Draw a picture of a duplicated chromosome in the box below. Label the sister chromatids and
centromere. Next to the box, explain how sister chromatids are related.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
4. The division of the nucleus is referred to as _________________.
5. The process in which the cytoplasm of a cell is divided to form two daughter cells is called
________________________.
The Stages of Cell Cycle:
Interphase
Prophase
Metaphase
MITOSIS
Anaphase
Telophase
Cytokinesis
Practice:
http://bio.rutgers.edu/~gb101/lab2_mitosis/section2_frames.html
1. Go to the above site. This will be your time to practice recognizing the phases of mitosis in both plant and
animal cells. During this section the correct answers will be provided for you so you can make sure you are on
the right track.
2. Follow the steps outlined on the site. Complete the plant cell (onion root tip) recognition first AND the
animal cell (white fish) second. After clicking on a cell, decide which phase of mitosis that cell is in. If you are
not correct the first time, try again.
Lab Procedure:
http://www.biologycorner.com/projects/mitosis.html
1. Go to the above site.
2. Find the Whitefish Embryo section of the lab.
a) Enlarge each of the animal cells provided and determine which stage of mitosis each cell is in.
c) Draw what you see in the observations section of the lab.
d) Underneath your drawing, label the cell with the phase of mitosis it is undergoing.
*It is important that you draw your cells in the same order as they appear on the website or your answers
will be considered incorrect.
3. Find the Onion Root Tip section of the lab. – Follow the same procedure as for the Whitefish Embryo.
Whitefish Embryo
Draw each of the 4 cells and label the phase of mitosis each is undergoing.
Onion Root Tip
Draw each of the 5 cells and label the phase of mitosis each is undergoing.
Questions:
1) Look at the overall view of the onion root tip. Which phase does it look like most cells are in? Why are
most cells in this phase?
2) This about the type of cells that were examined or their location within the organism.
a. Why is the onion root used to demonstrate mitosis?
b. Why is the Whitefish embryo used to demonstrate mitosis?
3. Explain the differences between interphase and prophase.
4) Label the following pictures of cells with the correct phase of the cell cycle. State the characteristic(s) of
the phase that you are using to decide this.