Mitosis

Science Lecture

MITOSIS
A. Introduction
a. What is mitosis?
- It is a type of cell division in which one cell (mother) divides to produce two
new cells (daughters)
b. Goal of mitosis
- To make sure that each daughter cell gets a perfect, full set of chromosomes.
 Cells with too few or too many chromosomes don’t function well: they may
not survive, or may cause cancer.
 Cells that undergo mitosis split up their duplicated chromosomes in a
carefully organized series of steps.

B. Body
a. Phases of mitosis
1. Early Prophase
 The cells start to break down some structures and build others up,
setting the stage for division of chromosomes.
 Chromosome starts to condense
 Mitotic spindle begins to form
 The nucleolus, a part of the nucleus where ribosomes are made,
disappears.
2. Late Prophase
 The mitotic spindle begins to capture and organize the
chromosomes.
 The chromosomes become even more condensed (compacted)
 The nuclear envelope breaks down, releasing the chromosomes.
 The mitotic spindle grows more and some of the microtubules starts
to capture chromosomes.