Mitosis: Cell Division

Lab Brief #2

🎯 Your mission

Run the experiment. Find out what really happens.

⚡ The twist

What the body does in one minute is wilder than any cartoon.

What you'll learn

Mitosis is cell division that produces two identical daughter cells. It is how organisms grow, repair damaged tissue, and replace old cells.

Key words

cell
The tiny building block that makes up all living things.
mitosis
When one cell splits into two matching cells to help the body grow.

Make a hypothesis first

Guess: how does the body solve this problem?

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Get ready

🧰 What you need

microscope (or magnifying glass)
onion skin

⚠️ Safety first

Check glassware for chips before use and carry it with both hands.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Look at the vocabulary words and write a definition for each in your own words.

Step 2 of 4 · Do

Prepare a wet-mount slide of an onion skin and observe it under a microscope (or magnifying glass). Draw and label the cell wall, cell membrane, and nucleus.

Step 3 of 4 · Observe

Use your senses (except taste) to describe what you notice.

Step 4 of 4 · Record

Write a summary of your findings in 3-5 sentences.

Question 1 of 3

What is mitosis?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 3

What is meiosis?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 3 of 3

What organelle produces energy for the cell?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

🦠 You have more bacterial cells in your body than human cells.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 3 right.

Next: Why Cells Are Small All lessons

🎯

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✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: This is why plants grow toward windows and why scabs form.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it this week): Watch a plant or pet for 5 minutes today and write down what you noticed.

👨‍👩‍👧 For the dinner table: “Tell me something you noticed about your own body today.”

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Mitosis: Cell Division

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