Interactive activity: Mitosis - WJEC

The activity on this page has been designed by educational experts to help you learn the three stages of mitosis through a hands-on experience.

Mitosis is a type of cell division where cells divide to produce new cells.

Mitosis is the process that takes place when:

• an organism grows

• an organism becomes damaged and needs to produce new cells

• organisms like bacteria reproduce asexually

Mitosis will produce two daughter cells which are genetically identical to the parent cell. If this is a human cell, it will contain all 46 chromosomes with the full DNA to make an exact copy of that person.

These cells are known as diploid cells because they have both sets of chromosomes.

This interactive activity allows you to see what's happening inside the cell as it goes through the stages of mitosis.

Let's go through the stages of cell division. Use the interactive activity as a visual reference point.

Interphase is the longest stage of the cell cycle. DNA replicates to form two copies of each chromosome, ready for cell division. This then produces new sub-cellular structures such as mitochondria, ribosomes and chloroplasts.

During this stage, one set of chromosomes is pulled to the sides of the cell and the nucleus divides.

The phases of mitosis are known as prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase. You do not need to learn these terms, just be able to describe the main changes.

Cytokinesis is where the cytoplasm and cell membranes divide to form two identical daughter cells.

Investigate the BBC Bitesize guide to cell division for text explainers, infographics and more biology GCSE revision resources.

The other type of cell division is called meiosis. See more about meiosis in this study guide which explains the difference between mitosis and meiosis.

To help you unlock other ways of learning, BBC Bitesize and BBC Sounds have developed a series of GCSE revision podcasts, covering a wide range of GCSE biology topics. You can jump straight to the series about the cell or even directly to the episode about mitosis and meiosis.

BBC Bitesize has lots of quizzes and exam questions to help you test your understanding of cell division and general biology topics, including:

• A ten-question quiz with questions about mitosis and meiosis.

• Exam practice quizzes based on GCSE biology past papers.

• Quick-fire quizzes with different GCSE biology questions each time you refresh the quiz.

• Practice questions arranged by topic, based on GCSE past papers. Choose the GCSE biology topic you want to focus on.