This activity has been carefully designed to help you see and understand exactly what’s happening during each stage of mitosis.
What is mitosis?
Mitosis is a type of cell division where cells divide to produce new cells.
Mitosis is the process that takes place when:
an organism grows
an organism becomes damaged and needs to produce new cells
organisms like bacteria reproduce Reproduction that does not involve sex cells.
How many cells are formed as a result of mitosis?
Mitosis will produce two daughter cells which are genetically identical to the parent cell. If this is a human cell, it will contain all 46 chromosomes with the full DNA to make an exact copy of that person.
The time taken for the full cell cycle depends on the cells involved and the life stage of the organism. When an An organism in the early stages of development. is developing, the cycle can be very short but is typically much longer in adult cells. Throughout our lives the cells in our bodies, such as skin cells and blood cells, will be constantly replaced by mitosis.
Mitosis - interactive activity
This interactive activity allows you to see what happens inside the cell as it progresses along the stages of mitosis.
What are the stages of the cell cycle?
Let's go through the stages of cell division. Use the interactive activity as a visual reference point.
The first stage: Interphase
Interphase is the longest stage of the cell cycle. DNA replicates to form two copies of each chromosome, ready for cell division. This then produces new sub-cellular structures such as mitochondria, ribosomes and chloroplasts.
The second stage: Mitosis
During this stage, one set of chromosomes is pulled to the sides of the cell and the nucleus divides.
The phases of mitosis are known as prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase. You do not need to learn these terms.
The third stage: Cytokinesis
Cytokinesis is where the cytoplasm and cell membranes divide to form two identical daughter cells.
Where can I learn more about cell division and the cell cycle?
The BBC Bitesize study guide about cell division has in-depth text, diagrams and more GCSE Combined Science biology materials to help.
You might also find it helpful to learn about meiosis, the other type of cell division, to understand the differences between mitosis and meiosis, and how both processes work.
To help you unlock and explore other ways of learning, BBC Bitesize and BBC Sounds have developed a series of GCSE revision podcasts, covering a wider range of GCSE biology topics. Jump straight to the series about the cell, if you'd like, or directly to the episode about mitosis and meiosis.
Where can I test my knowledge of mitosis and cell division?
Bitesize has lots of general CCEA Double Award Combined Science test pages, including:
A multiple-choice quiz about cell division with questions focused on mitosis.
Exam practice quizzes based on CCEA Double Award Combined Science GCSE past papers.
Quick-fire quizzes with fresh GCSE Combined Science biology questions every time you refresh the page.
Topic-based exam practice questions where you can choose which topics you'd like to focus on.
