Question

With the help of information collected from internet, prepare the slides of various stages of mitosis and observe under the compound microscope.

Answer 1

Aim

To collect information on the various stages of mitosis, prepare slides, and observe them under a compound microscope.

Materials Required

• Compound microscope
• Prepared onion root tip slide (or temporary slide)
• Glass slides and coverslips
• Acetocarmine/Aceto-orcein stain
• Forceps, needle, and blotting paper

Procedure

1. Collect information and diagrams of the stages of mitosis from books and educational resources.
2. Prepare a temporary slide of an onion root tip or use a prepared slide.
3. Place the slide on the stage of the compound microscope.
4. Focus the specimen under low power and then under high power.
5. Observe the different stages of mitosis and identify their characteristic features.
6. Draw neat, labelled diagrams of each stage.

Observations

Prophase

• Chromosomes become short, thick, and visible.
• Nuclear membrane and nucleolus disappear.

Metaphase

• Chromosomes arrange themselves at the equatorial plane.
• Spindle fibres attach to the centromeres.

Anaphase

• Centromeres divide.
• Sister chromatids move towards opposite poles.

Telophase

• Chromosomes reach the poles.
• Nuclear membrane and nucleolus reappear.

Cytokinesis

• Cytoplasm divides, resulting in the formation of two daughter cells.

Result

Different stages of mitosis: Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase, Telophase, and Cytokinesis, were observed under the compound microscope.

Conclusion

Mitosis is an equational cell division in which one parent cell divides to form two genetically identical daughter cells. It plays an important role in growth, repair, and maintenance of the body.