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9th grade The cell cycle and why cells divide worksheet

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The cell cycle and why cells divide

Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. Bo watches a new cell form. It is growing and gathering building blocks, and its DNA is not copied yet. Which part of the wheel is it in?

    • No segment: a new cell rests before the cycle starts
    • G2, the second gap
    • M, the mitotic phase
    • G1, the first gap
  2. Esme reads the wheel. Which job happens in the mitotic phase?

    Use the picture in question 1.

    • The cell copies its DNA so each chromosome has two chromatids
    • The cell grows, copies its DNA and divides, from start to finish
    • The cell grows and gathers energy before copying its DNA
    • The copied chromosomes are pulled apart and the cell splits
  3. Read this first

    Cycle wheel (model, not to scale), clockwise from the top

    G1, S, G2, mitosis (M), cytokinesis.

  4. Jun walks clockwise around the wheel, starting at G1. Which list shows the segments in order?

    • G1, S, G2, mitosis, cytokinesis
    • Cytokinesis, mitosis, G2, S, G1
    • G1, G2, S, mitosis, cytokinesis
    • G1, S, G2, cytokinesis, mitosis
  5. Kira looks at the wheel. Which segment comes straight after S?

    • Mitosis, skipping the second gap
    • G1, the first gap
    • Cytokinesis, the cell splitting
    • G2, the second gap
  6. Luz brackets part of the wheel as interphase. Which segments belong in the bracket?

    • No segment: interphase is a rest between cycles
    • Mitosis alone, since mitosis is the whole cycle
    • G1, S and G2
    • Mitosis and cytokinesis
  7. Four uses of cell division (facts from OpenStax Biology 2e)

    situationwhat happens
    Aa sea urchin begins as 1 cell and has 16 cells after 4 rounds of cell division
    Bhuman epithelial cells are replaced after about 2 to 5 days on average
    Ca single-celled organism splits into 2 single-celled organisms
    Da fertilized egg divides again and again until a person has trillions of cells
  8. Milo reads the card. Which situation shows cell division used for reproduction, not growth or replacement?

    • A: one cell becomes 16 cells in an animal
    • B: old epithelial cells are swapped for new ones
    • D: one cell becomes the many cells of a person
    • C: one cell becomes two new organisms
  9. Noah compares two cube cells. Which cell has more surface area for each unit of its volume?

    • The 3 µm cell, because bigger cells exchange materials better
    • The 1 µm cell, with a ratio of 6
    • Neither: both cubes share the same ratio
    • The 3 µm cell, since 54 is more surface area than 6
  10. A cube cell in Pia's model grows from a side of 2 µm to a side of 4 µm. What happens to its surface-area-to-volume ratio?

    • It falls from 3 to 1.5, so each part of the cell gets less membrane
    • It stays at 3, since the cell keeps the same shape
    • It rises, since bigger cells exchange materials better
    • It rises, since the bigger cell has more membrane
  11. Tala reads about the gate in mitosis. What must be true before the sister chromatids are pulled apart?

    • Each pair of sister chromatids is attached to the spindle
    • The cell has already divided its cytoplasm
    • The cell has doubled in size
    • The DNA has been copied for the first time
  12. “model, not to scale” Zee reads about a mature nerve cell that does not divide. Where is it in the cell cycle?

    • In G1, getting ready to divide again soon
    • In G0, outside the active cycle
    • In interphase, resting before its next division
    • In mitosis, stuck partway through dividing
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9th grade The cell cycle and why cells divide worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

The cell cycle and why cells divide. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can say the cell cycle has two big parts: interphase (G1, S and G2) and the mitotic phase (mitosis, then cytokinesis), and put the five segments in order around the wheel.
  • I can say what each interphase segment does: the cell grows and stocks up in G1, copies its DNA in S (each chromosome becomes two sister chromatids), and gets ready in G2. I can say interphase is busy, not a rest.
  • I can say mitosis sorts the copied chromosomes into two sets and cytokinesis then divides the cytoplasm, so the sorting comes before the split.
  • I can say why cells divide: a many-celled body grows, tissues replace worn cells, single-celled organisms reproduce, and a cell that grows too large has a falling surface-area-to-volume ratio.
  • I can work out a cube cell's surface area (6 × side × side), volume (side × side × side) and ratio, and say what happens to the ratio when the side doubles.
  • I can say what the three gates check (G1: DNA damage and readiness; G2: all chromosomes copied and undamaged; M: every pair of sister chromatids attached to the spindle), and that a cell can be held at a gate or step into G0.

Standard: HS-LS1-4

Words to know

cell cycle: The ordered series of events from one cell's formation to its division into two

interphase: The long first part of the cycle: G1, S and G2, when the cell grows and prepares

G1: First gap: the cell grows and gathers building blocks and energy before copying

S phase: The stage where the cell's DNA is copied

G2: Second gap: the cell restocks energy and makes proteins for dividing

mitotic phase: Mitosis followed by cytokinesis: the copied DNA is separated and the cell splits

mitosis: Division of the nucleus: copied chromosomes are sorted into two sets

cytokinesis: Division of the cytoplasm into two daughter cells

Common mistakes

Your child thought interphase is a rest between divisions. In interphase the cell grows, copies its DNA and gets ready to divide. Ask your child what happens in G1, S and G2.

Your child thought DNA is copied during mitosis. The copying happens earlier, in S phase of interphase, and mitosis only separates the finished copies. Ask your child which phase makes sister chromatids.

Your child treated mitosis as the whole cell cycle. Mitosis is a short stretch; most of the cycle is interphase. Ask your child which phases come before mitosis.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with the cell cycle and why cells divide?

Your child thought interphase is a rest between divisions. In interphase the cell grows, copies its DNA and gets ready to divide. Ask your child what happens in G1, S and G2.

Are these 9th grade science worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

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