Essential Idea:
Cell division is essential
but must be controlled
Understandings:
- Mitosis is division of the nucleus into two genetically identical daughter nuclei
- Chromosomes condense by supercoiling during mitosis
- Interphase is a very active phase of the cell cycle with many processes occurring in the nucleus and cytoplasm
- Cytokinesis occurs after mitosis and is different in plant and animal cells
- Cyclins are involved in the control of the cell cycle
- Mutagens, oncogenes and metastasis are involved in the development of primary and secondary tumours
Applications:
- The correlation between smoking and incidence of cancers
Skills:
- Identification of phases of mitosis in cells viewed with a microscope or in a micrograph
- Determination of a mitotic index from a micrograph