Explain why mitosis proceeds in a fixed sequence
Three steps, the way the exam actually works: work through the lab, write down your own observations, then answer a 6-point free response. What you recorded goes to the grader with your writing, so a conclusion that does not follow from your own evidence will cost you the point — exactly as it would with a real reader.
Run the investigation
- 1Step through the animation from prophase to telophase.
- 2Record one defining event from each major stage.
- 3Identify when chromosomes align at the cell equator and when sister chromatids separate.
- 4Use the sequence to explain how daughter cells receive equal genetic information.
Booting the lab…
Record what you found
This is your reading of the source, not ours. The grader sees them, so your conclusions have to follow from what you actually recorded.
| Key prophase event | |
|---|---|
| Key metaphase event | |
| Key anaphase event | |
| Key telophase event |
Answer the free response
Mitosis is not just a list of names; the order matters. (a) Explain why chromosome condensation in prophase is necessary before metaphase and anaphase can work reliably. (b) Explain why metaphase alignment is a checkpoint-worthy moment for the cell. (c) Describe what anaphase accomplishes mechanically and why that matters genetically. (d) A student says mitosis makes genetic variation because the chromosomes “get mixed up” during division. Evaluate that claim and contrast mitosis with the process that really does generate new combinations.
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