Grade 9 · Science · Unit 2 of 11
Cells from Cells
DNA, mitosis and growth
What your child practises
How cells copy their DNA and divide by mitosis, the stages in order, why cells divide for growth and healing, and what can go wrong when cell growth isn't controlled.
New Brunswick Curriculum skill descriptor: Scientific Literacy: Sensemaking · cell division and how cells make more cells
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Most of a cell's life is spent in…
- anaphase
- mitosis
- telophase
- interphase
interphase
Hint: Interphase is when the cell grows, does its job and copies its DNA.
Question 2
How are plant cells different in the last stage of cell division?
- They explode.
- They make a new nucleus only.
- They skip it.
- They build a new cell plate between the two cells.
They build a new cell plate between the two cells.
Hint: Plant cells have rigid walls, so a cell plate forms and becomes the new wall.
Question 3
Put the stages of cell division in order, earliest first.
- ↔️Anaphase: chromosomes pull apart
- ➖Metaphase: chromosomes line up
- 🧬Interphase: DNA is copied
- ⚪Telophase: two new nuclei form
Interphase: DNA is copied → Metaphase: chromosomes line up → Anaphase: chromosomes pull apart → Telophase: two new nuclei form
Hint: Interphase: the cell grows and copies its DNA. Prophase: chromosomes become visible. Metaphase: they line up. Anaphase: they are pulled apart. Telophase: two nuclei form. Then the cell splits.
Question 4
Which is a reason that damaged DNA can be harmful?
- DNA is not copied.
- DNA only affects colour.
- DNA is outside the cell.
- Instructions copied incorrectly can lead to cells that do not work properly.
Instructions copied incorrectly can lead to cells that do not work properly.
Hint: Mutations change the instructions, and some change how a cell behaves.
Question 5
A skin cell has 46 chromosomes. How many chromosomes does each daughter cell have after mitosis?
- 23
- 46
- 92
- 12
46
Hint: Mitosis makes identical copies, so each daughter cell has the same number of chromosomes.
Question 6
Before a cell divides, the DNA is…
- removed from the cell
- copied, so each new cell gets a full set
- split into random pieces
- destroyed
copied, so each new cell gets a full set
Hint: DNA replication ensures each daughter cell receives complete instructions.