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CAIE A Level Biology 9700

The mitotic cell cycle questions

Exam-style questions on The mitotic cell cycle, ordered from foundation to challenge. Pick one, write your answer the way you would in the exam, and it comes back marked against the mark scheme, point by point.

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Written by Markquill to follow the Cambridge International syllabus. Markquill is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Cambridge International.

  1. Outline4 marksStandardTable 1 shows the number of cells observed in each stage of mitosis in a sample from an onion root tip. The total cell cycle time is 24 hours. Stage Number of cells Interphase 400 Prophase 100 Metaphase 30 Anaphase 20…
  2. Outline5 marksStandardOutline the events that occur during anaphase of mitosis. In your answer, describe the behaviour of the sister chromatids, the role of the spindle fibres, and any changes to the cell surface membrane.
  3. Outline5 marksStandardA student is observing a stained slide of an animal cell undergoing mitosis. They identify a cell in anaphase. Outline the major events that occur during anaphase, including: the behaviour of sister chromatids the role…
  4. Explain4 marksStandardA scientist examines a stained squash preparation of an onion (Allium cepa) root tip under a light microscope. She focuses on two cells: Cell X: The chromosomes are aligned along the equator of the cell. Each…
  5. Describe5 marksStandardThe following events occur during the mitotic cell cycle in an animal cell. They are listed in no particular order. Describe the correct sequence of these events, stating the stage of mitosis at which each event…
  6. Outline4 marksStandardA biologist observes a skin cell as it progresses through the cell cycle. She notes the following activities at different times: The cell synthesizes new proteins and increases in size. The cell replicates its DNA. The…
  7. Outline5 marksStandardIn the lining of the human small intestine, stem cells in the crypts divide by mitosis to produce new epithelial cells that migrate up the villi, replacing cells shed into the lumen. Occasionally, mutations occur in…
  8. Describe4 marksStandardA student examines a stained squash preparation of an onion root tip using a light microscope. One cell shows chromosomes lined up at the equator (metaphase plate) of the cell. The nuclear envelope is absent, and…
  9. Explain5 marksStandardDuring prophase of mitosis, a living animal cell is observed using fluorescence microscopy. Initially, the nuclear envelope appears as a continuous ring around the chromosomes, and no spindle fibres are visible. As…
  10. Describe5 marksStandardThe epithelial lining of the small intestine is renewed every few days. This renewal depends on stem cells at the base of the intestinal crypts undergoing repeated mitotic divisions. Describe the structure of a…
  11. Explain4 marksStandardA biologist observes two cells from a growing root tip, each at a different stage of mitosis. Cell X: Chromosomes are visible as thin threads. The nuclear envelope is present and the spindle has not yet formed. Cell Y…
  12. Outline4 marksStandardA biologist is studying cell division in a tissue sample. She records the following sequence of events: The cell grows and organelles multiply. DNA replication occurs. Chromosomes condense and align at the centre of…
  13. Describe4 marksStandardA biologist is examining a chromosome from a root tip cell of an onion plant during the G2 phase of the cell cycle. Describe the structure of this chromosome, including the roles of DNA, histone proteins, sister…
  14. Explain4 marksStandardDuring wound healing, epidermal stem cells at the base of the skin are activated. Explain how these stem cells contribute to the repair of damaged skin tissue.
  15. Describe4 marksStandardDuring metaphase of mitosis, chromosomes are highly condensed. A chromosome at this stage consists of two sister chromatids joined at a centromere. Each chromatid contains a single linear DNA molecule. Describe the…
  16. Explain5 marksStandardA researcher studying cell division in the epidermis of a newt observes that after an injury, many cells undergo mitosis to repair the wound. Explain why the daughter cells produced by mitosis are genetically identical…
  17. Outline4 marksStandardThe table shows the number of cells observed in each stage of mitosis in a squash preparation of a garlic (Allium sativum) root tip. Stage Number of cells Prophase 62 Metaphase 14 Anaphase 8 Telophase 36 Outline the…
  18. Describe5 marksStandardA student observing mitosis in onion root tip cells wrote down the following descriptions of events, but did not record the stage in which each occurred. The descriptions are not in chronological order. 'The…
  19. Explain4 marksStandardIn an experiment, skin stem cells in a mouse are activated after a wound. Explain how these stem cells contribute to tissue repair, with reference to the cell cycle and the role of telomeres.
  20. Outline4 marksStandardA single cell in a growing tissue goes through the following sequence of events: it increases in size, replicates its DNA, grows further, then its nucleus divides followed by division of the cytoplasm. Outline the…
  21. Describe5 marksStandardA line of human cells is grown in culture and undergoes many rounds of cell division. After many divisions, scientists observe that the chromosomes have become shorter. Describe the structure of a chromosome and…
  22. Outline5 marksStandardOutline how loss of control over the mitotic cell cycle can lead to tumour formation. In your answer, refer to the stages of the cell cycle, the structure of chromosomes, and the role of telomeres.
  23. Explain5 marksStandardA researcher is studying the process of mitosis in human skin cells. After a small cut, the skin cells surrounding the wound begin to divide to repair the damaged tissue. Using your knowledge of the mitotic cell cycle…
  24. Explain5 marksStandardAn animal cell is undergoing mitosis. Explain the changes that occur to the nuclear envelope and the spindle during prophase.
  25. Describe5 marksStandardA student is studying mitosis in onion root tip cells. They observe cells at various stages. Describe the sequence of events that occur to the chromosomes and the nuclear envelope from the end of interphase to the…
  26. Outline4 marksStandardA student prepared a root tip squash from an onion (Allium cepa) and counted the number of cells in each stage of mitosis. The results are shown in the table. Stage Number of cells Prophase 30 Metaphase 10 Anaphase 8…
  27. Describe5 marksStandardThe ends of chromosomes are protected by telomeres. Describe the structure of telomeres and explain their role in preventing the loss of genes during DNA replication. Also describe why stem cells, which undergo many…
  28. Explain5 marksStandardDuring mitosis, the behaviour of the nuclear envelope and the spindle apparatus changes in a coordinated way. Describe the changes to the nuclear envelope and the spindle that occur during prophase, and explain why…
  29. Outline5 marksStandardA biologist is observing a sample of actively dividing cells from a root tip. One cell is clearly in anaphase. Outline the key events occurring in this cell at anaphase. Include the behaviour of sister chromatids, the…
  30. Outline5 marksStandardA biopsy from a rapidly growing skin lesion shows many cells undergoing cell division, whereas normal skin tissue shows very few dividing cells. Outline the stages of the mitotic cell cycle and outline how a loss of…
  31. Describe4 marksStandardA student examines a stained squash preparation of cells from a garlic root tip. One cell appears as follows: the chromosomes are condensed and each is seen as a single chromatid; the chromosomes are being pulled…
  32. Explain6 marksChallengeA patient's skin stem cells have very short telomeres compared to healthy individuals. Explain how the structure and replication of chromosomes would be affected in these cells, and why this leads to a reduced ability…
  33. Explain6 marksChallengeA researcher observes mitosis in cells from both a plant (onion root tip) and an animal (newt lung epithelium) under a microscope. In prophase, the researcher notes differences in the way the spindle fibres first…
  34. Explain6 marksChallengeA 45-year-old patient sustains a second-degree burn on their forearm. The burn damages the epidermis, but the basal layer of the epidermis contains stem cells that remain intact. These stem cells are capable of…
  35. Explain6 marksChallengeA scientist observes two cells from an animal tissue under a light microscope. In cell X, the chromosomes are visible as two sister chromatids joined at the centromere, and the nuclear envelope appears fragmented. In…
  36. Describe5 marksChallengeA technician prepared a slide of a root tip from an actively growing onion (Allium cepa). Under a light microscope, one cell showed the following features: Chromosomes were highly condensed and each appeared as two…
  37. Outline7 marksChallengeHuman skin is constantly renewed as stem cells in the epidermis divide by mitosis to replace cells lost from the surface. In an inherited condition, skin stem cells have telomeres that are much shorter than normal…
  38. Describe5 marksChallengeA scientist observes animal cells undergoing mitosis and records the following events in her notebook, but they are not in chronological order: The chromosomes line up at the equator of the cell. The cell surface…
  39. Describe5 marksChallengeA slide of an animal cell undergoing mitosis is stained and observed under a light microscope. The following features are recorded: chromosomes have reached opposite poles of the cell and appear to be unwinding into…
  40. Outline7 marksChallengeA student observes a photomicrograph of a plant root tip cell in anaphase. With reference to the behaviour of sister chromatids, spindle fibres, and the nuclear envelope, outline the events that occur during prophase…
  41. Outline7 marksChallengeA biologist observes a population of human skin stem cells under a microscope. She notes that some cells are in interphase and others are in mitosis. Outline the sequence of phases in the mitotic cell cycle of a skin…
  42. Explain6 marksChallengeThe epidermis (outer layer of skin) is constantly exposed to environmental damage, leading to the death of surface cells. The basal layer of the epidermis contains stem cells that divide to replace these lost cells…
  43. Describe5 marksChallengeYou are examining a skin wound healing process. Describe the structure of a chromosome during metaphase of mitosis, including the roles of DNA, histone proteins, sister chromatids, the centromere, and telomeres…
  44. Describe5 marksChallengeA human cell lining the intestine divides repeatedly throughout life. However, after many divisions, the cells eventually stop dividing. Describe the structure of a chromosome immediately after the S phase of the cell…
  45. Outline7 marksChallengeA student observed a stained squash preparation of an onion (Allium cepa) root tip under a light microscope. They counted the number of cells in each stage of mitosis in several fields of view. The results are shown in…
  46. Outline7 marksChallengeA student prepared a root tip squash from an actively growing onion (Allium cepa) and counted the number of cells in each phase of the cell cycle. The results are shown in the table below. Stage Number of cells…
  47. Describe5 marksChallengeA researcher cultured human fibroblasts and measured the average telomere length and the proportion of cells in different phases of the cell cycle after several population doublings. The data are shown in the table…
  48. Explain6 marksChallengeExplain how a hepatic stem cell undergoes mitosis to produce new hepatocytes for tissue repair, and why uncontrolled division of such stem cells could lead to tumour formation. In your answer, refer to the stages of…
  49. Explain6 marksChallengeA student treats actively dividing onion root tip cells with colchicine, a chemical that inhibits the polymerisation of tubulin into microtubules. When observed under a microscope, the treated cells show condensed…
  50. Describe5 marksChallengeA set of four descriptions (W–Z) were recorded from a time-lapse study of mitosis in animal cells. They are not in the correct chronological order. W: The chromosomes are aligned along the equator of the cell. Each…
  51. Describe5 marksChallengeA student examines a diagram of a eukaryotic chromosome during prophase of mitosis. The chromosome consists of two sister chromatids joined at a centromere. Describe the detailed structure of this chromosome, including…
  52. Explain6 marksChallengeA scientist examining a stained slide of an onion root tip identifies two cells at different stages of mitosis. Cell 1: Chromosomes are visible as distinct structures, each consisting of two sister chromatids. They are…
  53. Describe5 marksChallengeA biologist observes a cell under a light microscope and records the following features: The chromosomes are visible as single structures (each consisting of one chromatid) that are moving towards opposite poles of the…
  54. Outline7 marksChallengeA patient has a rapidly growing tumour in their lung. Cells from the tumour show high mitotic activity. With reference to the structure of chromosomes, the stages of the mitotic cell cycle, and the role of telomeres…
  55. Explain6 marksChallengeA species of lizard can regenerate its tail after loss. During regeneration, a mass of stem cells in the tail bud undergoes rapid cell division to produce new tissues. Researchers observe that the majority of these…
  56. Describe5 marksChallengeDescribe the structure of a chromosome as it appears during prophase of mitosis. In your answer, you should include: the composition of chromatin (DNA and histone proteins) the arrangement of sister chromatids and the…
  57. Outline7 marksChallengeA student observes a cell in which the sister chromatids are being pulled apart towards opposite poles of the spindle. Outline the sequence of events that take place during the mitotic cell cycle from the start of…
  58. Outline7 marksChallengeDuring a study of wound healing in mammalian skin, researchers track a population of stem cells. These stem cells divide by mitosis to generate new skin cells. The researchers observe that after many cycles of cell…