Study questions
The following
questions are intended as a guide to help you focus your studying. You
must, however, do more than memorize the answers to each of these questions.
You need to understand the material and be able to discuss the concepts
in your own words. Use active study techniques as much as possible (i.e.,
you must do more than just read over your answers many times). I also recommend
that you take advantage of the learning resources at the end of each chapter
in the textbook, including the associated exercises on the textbook website
(www.essentialbiology.com).
back to Study Aids
Chapter
8: The Cellular Basis of Reproduction and Inheritance
Mitosis
1. Describe the structure of the chromosomes. What is chromatin? How is it
coiled and condensed to form chromosomes? What are the sister chromatids,
the centromere, and the kinetochore?
2. What are the main stages of the cell cycle, and what happens in each?
3. For each of the four stages of mitosis, be able to
• draw and recognize examples (i.e., what do the chromosomes look like
in each stage; what are they doing in each phase?)
• state the major events that occur in that phase
4. What is cytokinesis? How does it differ between plants and animals?
Cancer
1. How is cancer a disease of the cell cycle?
2. Define and explain the three different types of tumors we discussed in class.
3. Be able to discuss current options for cancer treatment and suggestions for how to reduce risk factors for cancer.
Meiosis
1.Define the following terms: meiosis, diploid, haploid, homologous
chromosomes, tetrad, synapsis, crossing-over.
2. Which cells in our body are diploid? haploid?
3. How do the processes of mitosis, meiosis, and fertilization fit into the human
life cycle?
4. For each stage in meiosis:
• what happens in each?
• keep track of the number of sets of chromosomes in each stage (i.e.,
is the cell haploid or diploid?), and whether the chromosomes are replicated
or not. Be able to recognize drawings of a cell in each stage (I won't ask you
to draw the stages).
5. Be able to compare and contrast the different stages of mitosis and meiosis.
6. Explain the processes in sexual reproduction that result in genetic variability
in the offspring: independent assortment, random fertilization, and crossing-over.
7. Explain how nondisjunction in meiosis I or meiosis II can result in abnormal
numbers of chromosomes. What are some examples of disorders caused by nondisjunction
events?
