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Why do cells divide?
Why do cells divide? What would happen if they didn’t?

 Organisms would only ever exist as

single cells – fine for bacteria but
not so good for plants and animals!

 Old and damaged cells

would never be replaced.

 Organisms wouldn’t reproduce.

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Genetic material
When cells divide, it is essential that genes are copied into
the new cells.
Genes are the basic unit of inheritance, and are responsible
for the characteristics of an organism.

Genes are located on chromosomes, each of which is made

from a very long, tightly coiled molecule of DNA.

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What are homologous chromosomes?
Different organisms have different numbers of chromosomes.
Humans have 46 chromosomes. This is the diploid number
of humans.
Chromosomes can be grouped in pairs called homologous
chromosomes. In each pair, one chromosome has been
inherited from the mother and the other inherited from the
father.

chromosome chromosome
from mother from father

homologous pair
How many pairs of chromosomes do humans have? 23

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Human homologous chromosomes

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Divide and rule
How do cells divide?

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Divide and grow
Most animals and plants start off life as just a single cell, but
grow to become adults containing billions and billions of cells.

How does one cell become billions and billions of cells?

The type of cell division that makes animals and plants grow
is called mitosis.
parent
In mitosis, a parent cell divides cell
into two identical daughter
cells. These daughter cells
divide in two, and so on. mitosis

Mitosis is also the way in

which old and damaged
cells are replaced.
daughter cells
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One of a kind?
The two daughter cells produced by mitosis are genetically
identical to the parent cell. What does this mean?

All the genes and chromosomes from the parent cell must be
copied and passed on to the daughter cells.

Normally, a cell only contains

one copy of each
chromosome, but before
dividing a cell must duplicate
all its chromosomes. This
means that all the genes will
also be duplicated.

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Duplicating chromosomes
A cell’s chromosomes are usually
long, thin strands. Just before the cell
divides, however, the chromosomes
become shorter, thicker and more
visible. They are said to condense.

Each chromosome duplicates and becomes two strands,

each one called a chromatid. The two chromatids are
joined at the centromere.
chromatid

condensed centromere
chromosome

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What are the stages of mitosis?
Once the chromosomes have duplicated, mitosis takes
place. This is a continuous process but can be divided into
several parts:
 Each chromosome replicates so it contains two identical
chromatids.
 The chromosomes align in the middle of the parent cell.
 The two chromatids in each chromosome are pulled apart
into separate halves of the cell.
 The cell splits in two to produce two daughter cells, each
containing the same chromosomes.
Mitosis involves copying a cell and its chromosomes exactly,
so it is sometimes called copying division.

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What happens during mitosis?

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The stages of mitosis

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Chromosomes during mitosis

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What are sex cells?
Sex cells in animals and plants are called gametes. In
animals, the gametes are eggs (ova) and sperm.

In mammals, egg cells are produced in the ovaries, and

sperm cells are produced in the testes. How are these cells
specialized for their roles in reproduction?

lots of mitochondria flexible tail

for providing energy for swimming

food source
in cytoplasm
for embryo enzymes to
protective outer digest egg cell
cell layers membrane
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What is fertilization?
Fertilization is the stage of sexual reproduction when
gametes fuse. This is the first step in the creation of a
new life.

When an egg cell is

fertilized, it becomes a
zygote.

This zygote divides by

mitosis many times and
becomes an embryo.

The embryo continues to

grow and develop into a
fetus.

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What happens during fertilization?

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How many chromosomes in gametes?
If gametes had the same number of chromosomes as body
cells, what problem would this cause at fertilization?

The embryo would have double the number of

chromosomes – 92 instead of 46 in humans.

Why does this not happen?

Only one chromosome from

each homologous pair in the
parent cell is copied to the
gametes during cell division.

This means that human gametes

only have 23 chromosomes.
Gametes are said to be haploid cells.

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What is meiosis?
Gametes are produced by a type of cell division called
meiosis.

The number of chromosomes is halved in meiosis so it is

sometimes called reduction division.

Unlike mitosis, meiosis produces four unique daughter cells.

Why is it important to
produce genetically unique
gametes?

It ensures natural
variation within a
species.

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Increasing genetic variation
Meiosis produces genetically-unique daughter cells, but how
does this happen?

In the early stages of meiosis, homologous chromosomes

exchange DNA, which creates genetic variation and new
combinations of characteristics. This is called crossing-over.

homologous pair homologous pair

before crossing-over after crossing-over

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What happens during meiosis?
Before meiosis begins, all the chromosomes duplicate to form
two chromatids. Cells then undergo two rounds of division.
In the first round of division:
 Homologous pairs of chromosomes align in the middle of
the parent cell and are separated.
 The cell divides so each new daughter cell only contains
one chromosome from each pair; 23 chromosomes in total.
In the second round of division:
 In each cell, the chromosomes align in the centre and its
chromatids are pulled apart into separate halves of the cell.
 Each cell divides again, so each new cell only contains one
chromatid from each chromosome.

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What happens during meiosis?

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The stages of meiosis

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Chromosomes during meiosis

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What happens to DNA in cell division?
Before cell division takes place, the chromosomes duplicate.
How does this affect DNA?

Each chromosome is made

of a DNA molecule, so DNA
also needs to replicate.

DNA is a very
interesting molecule
because it is able to
copy itself. It is able to
do this because it is
double stranded.

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What is the structure of DNA?

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Build your own DNA molecule

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How does DNA replicate?
The replication of DNA is a continuous
process but can be broken down into
several stages:

 The DNA helix unwinds.

 The two strands separate.

 New bases bond to each

strand, creating two new
molecules of DNA.

 Each molecule of DNA

winds up again, creating
two new helices.

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How does DNA replicate?

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Mutation!
DNA is able to copy itself very accurately – for every 1 billion
bases replicated, only 1 will be wrong!

Sometimes, however, mistakes do happen.

When this happens, it is called a mutation.

Most mutations are harmful and many

have no effect, but sometimes a mutation
results in a new, beneficial characteristic
for the individual.

How important are mutations in

natural selection and evolution?

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 Glossary (1/2)

 base – The chemical in DNA that forms the basis of the

genetic code.
 centromere – The point at which two chromatids are joined
in a chromosome after it has replicated.
 chromatid – One of the two strands of a chromosome that
form after DNA replication.
 chromosome – A long molecule of tightly coiled DNA
found in the nucleus of most cells.
 crossing-over – The exchange of DNA between
homologous chromosomes during meiosis.
 DNA – The molecule that contains the genetic code.
 fertilization – The fusion of an egg and sperm cell.

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 Glossary (2/2)

 gamete – A male or female reproductive cell – sperm or

egg.
 gene – The unit of inheritance.
 homologous – Two chromosomes containing the same
type of genes and which pair up during meiosis.
 meiosis – The type of cell division that produces four
unique daughter cells (gametes).
 mitosis – The type of cell division that produces two
identical daughter cells.
 mutation – A random change in the genetic code of a cell.
 spindle – A network of tiny fibres that attach to
chromosomes during cell division and separate them.
 zygote – A fertilized egg cell.

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Anagrams

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Cell division terms

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Mitosis or meiosis?

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Multiple-choice quiz

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