Experiment 1: Observation of Mitosis in a Plant Cell:

1. Record your results here.
Number of Cells in Each Stage
Interphase:
Prophase:
Metaphase:
Anaphase:
Telophase:
Cytokinesis:

Calculated % of Time Spent in Each Stage
Interphase:
Prophase:
Metaphase:
Anaphase:
Telophase:
Cytokinesis:

2. In which stage were most of the onion root tip cells? Does this make sense? Explain why.

3. How accurate were your time predications for each stage of the cell cycle?

4. As a cell grows, what happens to its surface area : volume ratio? (Think of a balloon being blown up.) How is this changing ratio related to cell division?

5. What is the function of mitosis in a cell that is about to divide?

6. What would happen if mitosis were uncontrolled?