Name: __________________________________ Class: ___________
Chapter 8: Cellular Reproduction
Study Guide Questions
1. What is so unusual about the way that the Komodo dragon (page 121) gave rise to offspring? Why do
you think this particular process is so unusual in the animal world?
2. In ordinary cell division (mitosis), the resultant daughter cells are identical to the parent cell. Why?
3. What are the 3 major functions of mitosis?
4. Many single-cell organisms reproduce by asexual reproduction. Give 2 examples of multicellular
organisms that can also reproduce this way.
5. What are gametes?
6. What special type of cell division goes on in gametes?
7. How would you describe the makeup of chromosomes? What role do the proteins play?
8. How many chromosomes are present in the body cells of a human being?
9. What correlation, if any, can you draw between the number of chromosomes an organism possesses
and its complexity/intelligence?
10. When is the only time in a cell’s life cycle that chromatin will condense to form chromosomes?
11. The length of the DNA in one of your cells is between 5-6 feet when it is completely unwound.
Please describe the process of “DNA packing” that allows DNA to fit into the nucleus and condense to
form chromosomes. Use the terms “double helix, histones, nucleosomes, and supercoiling.”
12. Before a cell undergoes mitosis, it completely replicates its DNA so that each daughter cell can get a
copy. Explain the terms “sister chromatids” and “centromere” in relation to this process.
13. What is the “cell cycle”?
14. Name a cell type that has a very short cell cycle and a cell type that never undergoes cell division.
The length of a cell’s cycle depends on the role that cell plays in the organism.
15. What 3 stages comprise interphase, and what events characterize each stage? How long does
interphase generally last?
16. From the standpoint of mitosis, what is the most important event that takes place during interphase?
17. If a cell is not in interphase, it is involved in either mitosis or cytokinesis. How can you distinguish
those 2 phases?
18. For each of the 4 phases of mitosis, list the characteristics of each.
1
19. How are prophase and telophase related to one another?
20. Distinguish between cytokinesis in animal cells and cytokinesis in plant cells.
21. Liver cells are normally multinucleated. Suggest a way in which a cell might “accumulate” nuclei
over time.
22. What are “somatic” cells? What organ of your body has cells which are NOT somatic cells—instead,
they are called “sex cells” or “gametes”?
23. What are “homologous” chromosomes? Is a pair of homologous chromosomes identical?
24. How many pairs of homologous chromosomes are present in a human being? What are they called?
25. There is a 23rd pair of chromosomes that humans possess which determine the sex of the individual
(sex chromosomes, as opposed to autosomes). What sex chromosomes are present in a female? A male?
26. The body (somatic) cells of most animals are “diploid.” What does it mean to be diploid? What is
the abbreviation that means diploid?
27. Gametes, or sex cells, are “haploid.” What does it mean to be haploid? What is the abbreviation that
means haploid? Haploid cells are do not possess any _______________ chromosomes.
28. Why do sex cells have to be haploid? Think about what happens when fertilization takes place.
29. What is the process of meiosis?
30. Meiosis takes place in 2 processes, Meiosis I and Meiosis II. In Meiosis I, _____________________
separate from each other; in Meiosis II, _____________________ separate from each other.
31. How do prophase I and prophase II differ from one another?
32. How do metaphase I and metaphase II differ from one another?
33. What separates from each other in anaphase I? What separates from each other in anaphase II?
34. What is the hugely important difference between the interphase that occurs before Meiosis I and
interphase between Meiosis I and Meiosis II?
35. When does “crossing over” take place? What does crossing over results in genetic recombination;
what does this mean?
36. What is the site on the chromosome called where crossing over takes place?
37. There are 3 processes that contribute to genetic variation in sexual reproduction. State these 3
processes and describe how they work to increase genetic variation. Why is genetic variation so
important (think Darwin)?
38. When an error in the separation of homologous chromosomes or sister chromatids occurs during
meiosis, what is this error called?
2
39. What is the syndrome that results from having 3 copies of chromosome 21 called?
40. How could a karyotype be useful to diagnose this disorder?
41. Why is trisomy 21 more common than any other trisomy, or is it? (Think about this one!)
42. Describe Klinefelter’s syndrome and Turner’s syndrome. Looking at the population frequency of
these 2 disorders, do you think you will meet someone with one of these disorders in your lifetime?
Would you be able to tell for sure simply by their outward appearance?
3