1) In a woody plant such as a tree, which parts have cells that live only briefly and die quickly?

Which parts have cells that live for several years?

-In a woody plant, flower parts and gland cells die after a short period of time, while bark cells
live for some time.

2) Some cells never stop dividing. Give two examples of cells like this.
-Cells like cambial, and the roots and shoots never stop dividing.

3) Interphase is also called the resting phase of the cell cycle. Why was it given that name?
-Researches in the 1800s carefully studied the cell cycle wherein they paid more attention to
the division activities. They assumed that between division, cells were resting.

4) What are the main activities of a cell while it is in the G1 phase? What kinds of organisms
have short G1 phases, and how long does a short G1 phase last? What kind of organisms have
long G1 phases, and how long do they last?
-During the G1 phase, the cell is recovering from division and conducting most of its normal
metabolism. Synthesis of Nucleotides is also an important part of the process. Some algae have
short G1 phase duration which lasts to several hours. Example of long G1 phase is the human
somatic cells, the cell cycle lasts about 18 hours.

5) What is the main activity of the S phase of the cell cycle? What does S stand for?
-S in S Phase stands for Synthesis. In this phase, the genes in the nucleus are replicated
during this stage.

6) Table 4-2 gives the number of chromosomes in a haploid set of chromosomes. What is the
lowest number in the table? What is the hixghest number? Most cells in plants are diploid,
having two sets of chromosomes, so the number per nucleus should be doubled. How many
chromosomes are present in each diploid potato nucleus? If a potato plant has 1 million cells,
each with one diploid nucleus, how many chromosomes are present in the entire plant?
a)2
b)24
c)48
d)2,000,000


7) How many chromatids does a chromosome have before S phase of the cell cycle? How many
does it have after S phase?
a) 1 chromatid
b) 2 chromatids

8) Examine Table 4-1. How many hours does the cell cycle last in the root tips of corn and in
onion? Which plant has cells that divide more quickly? How many cell cycles could corn and
onion roots undergo in 4 weeks(the cell cycles in Table 4-1 are given in hours, not days)? If after
the a cell divides both daughter cells could divide and then their daughter cells could divide,
how many corn cells would be present at the end of 4 weeks if you started with just one cell of
each?
a) Corn 9.9 hours; Onion 17.5 hours
b) Carrot?
c) Corn 68 (approximately); Onion- 38
d) 1016 corn cells

9) What are the four phases of the cell cycle? What is the principal activity in the cell during
each phase? Can any phase be eliminated or bypassed?
Four phases of cell cycle:
G1 Phase synthesis of nucleotides
S Phase genes in the nucleus are replicated
G2 Phase synthesis of alpha and beta tubulins; synthesis of protein for processing
chromosomes; and synthesis of enzymes for nuclear breakdown
Mitosis nuclear genes are copied, separated from the other and packed into each own
nucleus
-These stages are all essential parts of the cell cycle, eliminating one would simple mean that a
full cell cycle will not take place.

10) Why is mitosis called duplication division and meiosis called reduction division? What is
reduced and what is duplicated: chromosomes, number of chromosomes, or number of sets of
chromosomes?
Mitosis is referred to as the duplication division because the nuclear genes are first copied;
then one set of genes is separated from the other, and each is packed into its own nucleus.
Meanwhile, Meiosis is called the reduction division because there is a reduction in the
chromosome number during two separate nuclear and cell divisions to produce gametes.
Number of chromosomes is duplicated and reduced in the two processes.