Practise Mitosis and the cell cycle. 11 exam-style questions plus unlimited generated ones on this subtopic, at up to four difficulty levels, with full mark schemes and a progress tracker. Free, no account needed.
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The statements describe three stages of the cell cycle. A One set of chromosomes is pulled to each end of the cell and the nucleus divides. B The cell grows, the number of sub-cellular structures increases and the DNA replicates. C The cytoplasm and the cell membrane divide to form two cells. Write the letters A, B and C in the order in which the stages happen. Start with the stage that happens first after a new cell has formed.
B, A, C
Sample questions
Written for this site in the style of AQA exam questions. They are not taken from real past papers.
Question 1Easy4 marks
Cells divide in a series of stages called the cell cycle.
(a) The statements describe three stages of the cell cycle. A One set of chromosomes is pulled to each end of the cell and the nucleus divides. B The cell grows, the number of sub-cellular structures increases and the DNA replicates. C The cytoplasm and the cell membrane divide to form two cells. Write the letters A, B and C in the order in which the stages happen. Start with the stage that happens first after a new cell has formed.[1]
(b) Which type of cell division produces two genetically identical cells? Tick (✓) one box.[1]
Differentiation
Fertilisation
Meiosis
Mitosis
(c) Give two reasons why mitosis is important in multicellular organisms.[2]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a)Answer: B, A, C
B → A → C
(b)Answer: Mitosis
(c)
growth / development
repair (of damaged tissue)
replacement (of worn-out / dead cells)
asexual reproduction
Question 2Medium5 marks
Mitosis happens in many parts of the human body.
(a) In which two of these is mitosis happening? Tick (✓) two boxes.[2]
A child's bones getting longer
Egg cells forming in an ovary
Skin cells replacing cells at the edge of a cut
Sperm cells forming in a testis
(b) Explain why it is important that the new skin cells are genetically identical to the skin cells they replace.[2]
(c) A skin cell divides by mitosis. Each new cell then also divides by mitosis. This continues until there have been 5 rounds of cell division. Calculate the number of cells at the end.[1]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a)Answer: A child's bones getting longer; Skin cells replacing cells at the edge of a cut
(b)
the new cells have the same genes / chromosomes / a full set of chromosomes
so they can carry out the same function / become the same type of cell
(c)Answer: 32
(25 =) 32
Question 3Hard6 marks
Cells divide in a series of stages called the cell cycle.
Describe the stages of the cell cycle, including mitosis. Explain why mitosis is important for multicellular organisms.[6]
Show the answer and mark scheme
the cell grows and the number of sub-cellular structures, e.g. ribosomes and mitochondria, increases
the DNA replicates to form two copies of each chromosome
in mitosis, one set of chromosomes is pulled to each end of the cell
the nucleus divides
the cytoplasm and cell membrane divide to form two cells
the two new cells are genetically identical to each other and to the parent cell
mitosis is important for the growth and development of multicellular organisms
mitosis produces new cells to repair damaged tissue and replace worn-out cells
Marked with levels of response: the full level descriptors are in the app.