TITLE: Mitosis

AIM: To observe cell division in an onion root tip

APPARATUS/MATERIALS: onion slide
Microscope
PROCEDURE:
1. An onion slide was observed through a microscope .
2. The different stages of cell division were counted and the amount of each stage was
recorded.
3. A diagram of each stage of mitosis was drawn.
RESULTS: Table showing observations
Stage of cell division
Interphase
Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telophase
Total

Amount of cell observed

33
2
2
1
12
50

DISCUSSION:
The zygote which is a fertilized egg cell is the way we all started life. A zygote divides into two
cells almost immediately after fertilization which is the growth of cells. Cell division growth is
continues until the embryo or a hollow ball of cells is formed. The zygote and the embryo is
about the same size but the embryo is composed of many cells. When a cell divides the nucleus
divides first then the cytoplasm divides resulting in two new cells, each with a nucleus. The
process by which cells increase with nuclear division is called Mitosis. The nuclei produced from
this process are identical to each other and the parent nucleus thus maintaining genetic stability.

As the embryo develops the cells gain nutrients and grow in size. After reaching a certain size the
cell cannot support itself as the cell surface membrane is not big enough to absorb sufficient
oxygen or to release carbon dioxide fast enough. The occurs as a result of the surface area does
not increase enough to support the increase the volume of protoplasm which consists of
cytoplasm plus nucleus. As cells increase in size the surface area does not increase therefore the
surface area becomes smaller, this is one reason why after growing for a while cells divide into
two. This is seen in unicellular eukaryotic organisms such as Amoeba, Paramecium and yeast.
The nuclei of these organisms divide by mitosis and then the cell divides by binary fusion or
budding. These are called asexual reproduction. After a cell is formed, the following events occur
in this sequence:
Growth of Cytoplasm
DNA Replication
Growth of Cytoplasm
Mitosis
Cytokinesis (Cytoplasmic Division)
DNA replication occurs in the synthesis or S phase of interphase. During the G phases or
growth phases biological molecules are made to synthesize new membranes and new organelles.
In the G phase molecules such as nucleoside triphosphates are made in preparation for
replication and transcription. Amino acids are synthesized and attached to tRNA molecules
ready for translation. Almost always replication gives rise to identical DNA so genetic
information inherited by the two daughter cells is identical to the parent cell. In the event
replication is not done like this then the cells may differ genetically and not function together in a

tissue. Cells expressing different proteins will be detected and eliminated by the immune system.
In spite of proof reading by DNA polymerase occasional mistakes are made during replication,
some of these influence mitosis. Differentiated cells that have lost the power to divide, can start
to divide causing stem cells to lose the ability to respond to signals that control their rate of
division. In multicellular organisms , mitosis is involved in;
1 Growth
2 Repair following wounding or other damage.
3 Replacement of cells and tissues.
4 Asexual Reproduction.
Cells produced by cell division remain together to form tissues in multicellular organisms. These
cells differentiate to become specialized to carry out specific functions. Stem cells retain the
ability to continue dividing by mitosis to produce more and more cells there are stem cells in the
bone marrow for the replacement of red and white blood cells. In the base in the epidermis in the
skin stem cells divide to replace the cells at the surface that are rubbed off all the time. Stem cells
divide to form tissues to cover wound and replace the damaged tissues. The stem cell equivalent
in plant is meristematic cells. These cells are found in the meristem areas such as ; root tips,
shoot tips and the cambium that gives rise to xylem and phloem tissues.