Name____________________________________
Mitosis Internet Lab- Honors Biology
1. Go to http://bio.rutgers.edu/~gb101/lab2_mitosis/index2.html (there is an underscore
between lab2_mitosis.
2. This is an introduction to viewing mitotic cells in onion roots & whitefish blastula cells.
You may not be able to view the videos on the school’s computers due to lack of
shockwave & quicktime. However, you can still do the lab. View the videos at home if
you are unable to view them in computer lab.
3. Once you have located at least 5 onion cells in each phase of mitosis and viewed the
whitefish blastula cells you are ready to do the Mitosis lab on the following sheet.
Assignment: Mitosis in Plant and Animal Cells
In this assignment you are going to estimate how much time a cell spends in each phase of
the cell cycle by determining the numbers of cells in each phase in a micrograph of actively
dividing cells. You need to understand the process of mitosis and be able to identify the
different stages of mitosis BEFORE beginning this lab. Please refer to your text or other
online references.
Go to http://www.jdenuno.com/PDFfiles/Mitosis.pdf to access the virtual microscope
images of onion root tip and whitefish blastula cells undergoing mitosis.
2. Observe every cell in one field of view and determine the cell cycle phase.
You may want to use reference images of mitosis stages to help you identify the cells.
3. Record in the data table below.
4. Count 3 full fields of view. You need to count at least 200 cells!
1.
Onion Root Tip Cells
Mitosis
Phase
Number of Cells
Slide 1
Slide 2
Slide 3
Interphase
Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telophase
Total
Cells
Counted
% of Total Cells
Counted
Total
Whitefish Blastula Cells
Mitosis
Phase
Number of Cells
Slide 1
Slide 2
Slide 3
% of Total Cells
Counted
Total
Interphase
Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telophase
Total
Cells
Counted
1. Find and draw a cell showing each stage of mitosis.
Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telophase
2. What is a distinguishing visible feature of each stage of mitosis?
Prophase:
Metaphase:
Anaphase:
Telophase:
3. Based upon the class results, order the stages of mitosis from shortest (1) to longest (4).
After the longest and shortest stage, give a brief explanation of why that stage is the longest.
Prophase ___
Metaphase ___
Anaphase ___
Telophase ___
4. Based upon the interpretations made above, interphase appears to be much
_______________ (shorter / longer) than mitosis. What processes occur in interphase prior to
the onset of mitosis?