How one cell becomes two (mitosis)
Grade 7 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.
Two cards of a model animal cell, not to scale (model data: 4 chromosomes). Zee's friend says interphase is the first stage of mitosis, because the chromosomes are copied then. Which response is best?
- Disagree: interphase comes before mitosis, when the cell grows and copies its chromosomes
- Agree: copying the chromosomes is how mitosis starts, so interphase is its first stage
- Disagree: the chromosomes are copied in prophase, not in interphase
- Agree: interphase is a quiet resting time, so it is the first stage of mitosis
Read this first
Use this
Two cards of a model animal cell, not to scale (model data: 4 chromosomes). Card P: the 4 chromosomes sit in a line across the middle of the cell. Card Q: the copies of each chromosome are pulled into two groups, with 4 moving toward each end.
Noah's friend says the chromosomes are pulled apart in metaphase and line up in anaphase. Which response is best?
- Disagree: they line up in anaphase and are pulled apart in telophase
- Disagree: they line up in metaphase and are pulled apart in anaphase
- Agree: the pulling comes first, and then the chromosomes line up in the middle
- Disagree: they line up in prophase and are pulled apart in metaphase
not to scale (model data: 14 chromosomes). Bo reads cards S and Q of one dividing model cell. How many chromosomes will each new cell hold, and which stage is card S?
Two cards of one dividing model animal cell, with card S just before card Q, not to scale (model data: 14 chromosomes). Card S: the chromosomes sit in a line across the middle of the cell. Card Q: the copies of each chromosome are pulled into two groups, with 14 moving toward each end. Two cards of one dividing model animal cell, with card S just before card Q, not to scale (model data: 14 chromosomes). Card S: the chromosomes sit in a line across the middle of the cell. Card Q: the copies of each chromosome are pulled into two groups, with 14 moving toward each end. S Q - 28 chromosomes; metaphase
- 7 chromosomes; metaphase
- 14 chromosomes; anaphase
- 14 chromosomes; metaphase
Use this
Cards for one dividing model plant cell, not to scale (model data: 12 chromosomes). Card P: the 12 chromosomes are thin, tangled threads inside a round nucleus. Card Q: a new wall is forming across the middle of the cell, making two cells, and each has its own nucleus.
Jun follows the model plant cell on cards P and Q through mitosis and cytokinesis. How many chromosomes are in the two new cells together?
- 12
- 24
- 48
- 36
after it divided, not to scale (model data). Esme reads that mitosis made two new cells with 10 chromosomes each. How many chromosomes did the cell have before it divided?
Card T of a model animal cell after it divided, not to scale (model data). Card T: after cytokinesis there are two new cells, and each holds 10 chromosomes. Card T of a model animal cell after it divided, not to scale (model data). Card T: after cytokinesis there are two new cells, and each holds 10 chromosomes. Card T 10 chromosomes 10 chromosomes - 15
- 10
- 5
- 20
Use this
Notebook about one model animal cell that starts with 4 chromosomes, model data. Line 1: In interphase, the cell grows and copies its chromosomes. Line 2: In metaphase, the chromosomes line up across the middle. Line 3: In anaphase, the copies are pulled apart, with 4 moving toward each end. Line 4: After cytokinesis, there are 2 cells with 2 chromosomes each.
Kira writes four notebook lines about a model cell that starts with 4 chromosomes. Which line has a flaw?
- Line 3: 2 chromosomes, not 4, should move toward each end
- Line 2: the chromosomes line up in anaphase, not in metaphase
- Line 1: the cell copies its chromosomes in prophase, not in interphase
- Line 4: each new cell should have 4 chromosomes, not 2
Use this
Notebook about one dividing model plant cell, model data. Line 1: In prophase, the chromosomes thicken and the nucleus boundary starts to break up. Line 2: In metaphase, the chromosomes line up across the middle. Line 3: In anaphase, the new wall is finished before the chromosomes reach the ends. Line 4: The two new cells have the same chromosomes as the first cell.
Ari writes four notebook lines about a dividing plant cell. Which line has a flaw?
- Line 3: the new wall forms after the chromosomes reach the ends
- Line 2: the cell has already split in two by the time of metaphase
- Line 4: the new cells should hold half of the chromosomes of the first cell
- Line 1: the nucleus boundary stays whole until anaphase begins
Use this
Notebook about what mitosis does, model data. Line 1: Root-tip cells divide by mitosis, and the new cells grow longer. Line 2: Gut-lining cells that wear off are replaced when nearby cells divide by mitosis. Line 3: Egg and sperm cells are made by mitosis, so they match the body cells. Line 4: The two new cells made by mitosis hold the same chromosomes as the first cell.
Tala writes four notebook lines about what mitosis does. Which line has a flaw?
- Line 3: egg and sperm cells come from a different division, which halves the chromosomes
- Line 2: nearby cells replace worn cells by growing bigger, not by dividing
- Line 1: root-tip cells divide to make egg and sperm cells for the plant
- Line 4: the two new cells should hold half of the first cell's chromosomes
Each starting cell has 8 chromosomes. Ren sees that cell X's egg cells hold 4 chromosomes, but cell W's new cells hold 8. Does this break the rule that mitosis keeps the number?
- Yes: mitosis halves the number when a cell is making egg cells for the animal
- Yes: mitosis sometimes halves the number of chromosomes, so the rule is wrong
- No: cell X copied its chromosomes twice before dividing, so it ended up with 4
- No: egg cells come from a different division that halves the number, and mitosis keeps 8
Use this
One card of a dividing model plant cell on a slide, not to scale (model data: 4 chromosomes). A new wall is just starting to form at the middle of the cell.
Milo sees card Q: two nuclei in one plant cell, with a new wall just starting. A friend says the slide must be wrong. Which reply is best?
One card of a dividing model plant cell on a slide, not to scale (model data: 4 chromosomes). Card Q: a group of 4 chromosomes sits at each end, and each group has a new nucleus boundary around it. A new wall is just starting to form at the middle of the cell. One card of a dividing model plant cell on a slide, not to scale (model data: 4 chromosomes). Card Q: a group of 4 chromosomes sits at each end, and each group has a new nucleus boundary around it. A new wall is just starting to form at the middle of the cell. Card Q - No: this is interphase, when the cell has copied its chromosomes
- Yes: each nucleus should hold 2 chromosomes, half of the 4
- No: this is telophase, and cytokinesis finishes the division
- Yes: the cell must split as soon as the chromosomes are in two groups