Chapter 9, Problem 37A

Summary Introduction

To distinguish:

Between mitosis and apoptosis

Introduction:

A cell grows until it reaches its size limit, then it either stops growing or divides. Most cells undergo division. Cell division helps a cell to reproduce and makes the organism grow and heal certain injuries. Cells reproduce by a cycle of growing and dividing called the cell cycle. Mitosis and apoptosis are two very important aspects of growth and development of an organism.

Answer to Problem 37A

Mitosis is the second stage in cell cycle in which cell’s nucleus and nuclear material divides. Mitosis helps in growth and repair of tissues. It results in increase in number of cells.

Apoptosis refers to programmed death of cells which results in decrease in number of cells. A series of events lead to complete destruction of cells undergoing apoptosis. This helps in preventing tumors from developing and forming cancers.

Explanation of Solution

The second stage in a cell cycle is mitosis in which cell’s nucleus and nuclear material divides. In this stage the cell’s replicated genetic material separates and the cell prepares to split into two daughter cells. There are four stages in mitosis; prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase.

Apoptosis refers to programmed death of cells which results in decrease in number of cells. This phenomenon may be triggered by some internal and external factors. It may occur in cells that are damaged beyond repair, including cells with DNA damage that could lead to cancer.