Name:
CELL DIVISION EXPERIMENT
Instructions: Read the following introduction and watch the Cancer Experiment
Video on class website in order to understand what experiment is being
conducted and to record data. Then complete the activity once the results are
measured.
Introduction: Cancer is a class of diseases characterized by out-of-control cell
growth. There are over 100 different types of cancer, and each is classified by
the type of cell that is initially affected. Cancer harms the body when damaged
cells divide uncontrollably to form lumps or masses of tissue called tumors.
Unlike regular cells, cancer cells do not experience cell suicide when mutated
and instead continue to grow and divide. This leads to a mass of abnormal cells
that grows out of control. When looking to understand the pace at which
cancer grows and spreads, the main concept to consider is doubling time,
which is the amount of time it takes for one cell to divide.
Experiment: The goal of this experiment is to compare the rate (speed) of cell
division between normal growing cells and cancerous cells. We have a patient
diagnosed with small cell lung cancer. He has volunteered to let us examine a
lung tissue sample near one of his tumors.
Procedure:
1. Removed lung tissue sample near cancerous (malignant) tumor
2. Prepared lung tissue sample under microscope.
3. Started timer, started to count cell divisions every 30 seconds.
4. Recorded data
Pre-experiment questions
1. What is a testable question or problem that is the basis for this
investigation?
2. Identify the independent variable for this investigation.
3. Identify the dependent variable for this investigation.
4. Write an appropriate hypothesis for this investigation.
Data:
Time period of test (seconds)
Normal Cells
Cancer Cells
# of cell divisions in 1,000’s
# of cell divisions in 1,000’s
0-30
31-60
61-90
91-120
121-150
151-180
Now use the data above to create a line graph below. Make sure to label the X and Y axis, make a title,
and use a key to show which lines are which. (HINT: remember where time goes!
Key
Post Experiment Questions:
5. Which cell type has the higher cell division rate?
6. What are some possible errors that could have affected our results?
7. Write a conclusion to answers your testable question from above.
8. After this experiment, write down a new question that we could test in
another experiment.