9th grade · Science · Unit 1 of 14
Cells from Cells
DNA, mitosis and growth
What your child practices
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.
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) teks student expectation: B.6(A) · the cell cycle, DNA replication and mitosis in growth
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- Before dividing, a cell copies its DNA so each new cell gets a full set.
- Mitosis stages in order: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase.
- Cells divide for growth and healing. Uncontrolled division can cause cancer.
Example: In which stage do the chromosomes line up in the middle? Prophase: chromosomes condense. Next they line up in the middle: metaphase. Answer: metaphase
Cells from Cells in Texas
In the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), this is unit 1 of 14 in 9th grade Science, before Reproduction.
Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.
Source: Texas Education Agency (TEA)
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
How are plant cells different in the last stage of cell division?
- They make a new nucleus only.
- They skip it.
- They build a new cell plate between the two cells.
- They explode.
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 2
What is mitosis?
- Cell division that makes four different cells
- The joining of two cells
- Cell division that makes two identical daughter cells
- The death of a cell
Cell division that makes two identical daughter cells
Hint: In mitosis, one cell's nucleus divides, making two genetically identical cells.
Question 3
Put the stages of cell division in order, earliest first.
- ➖Metaphase: chromosomes line up
- 🔬Prophase: chromosomes condense
- ⚪Telophase: two new nuclei form
- 🧬Interphase: DNA is copied
Interphase: DNA is copied → Prophase: chromosomes condense → Metaphase: chromosomes line up → 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
Why do cells divide?
- To grow, replace old cells and repair damage
- To make non-living matter
- To get smaller
- To stop working
To grow, replace old cells and repair damage
Hint: Cell division lets organisms grow and heal.
Question 5
Which describes a stem cell?
- A cell that is stuck in one job forever
- A dead cell
- A cell found only in plant stems
- An unspecialized cell that can divide and develop into different cell types
An unspecialized cell that can divide and develop into different cell types
Hint: Stem cells can become many kinds of cells.
Question 6
What are the stages of mitosis in order?
- anaphase, prophase, telophase, metaphase
- prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase
- telophase, anaphase, metaphase, prophase
- metaphase, prophase, telophase, anaphase
prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase
Hint: A common memory trick is PMAT: Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase, Telophase.