Biology AS OCR
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1-1-practical-skills-written-assessment AS7 主题
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1-2-practical-skills-endorsement-assessment AS16 主题
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1-2-1-practical-ethical-use-of-organisms as
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1-2-2-practical-aseptic-techniques as
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1-2-3-practical-dissection-of-gas-exchange-surfaces-in-fish-and-insects as
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1-2-4-drawing-cells-from-blood-smears as
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1-2-5-practical-investigating-biodiversity-using-sampling as
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1-2-6-practical-data-loggers-and-computer-modelling as
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1-2-7-practical-investigating-the-rate-of-diffusion as
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1-2-8-practical-investigating-water-potential as
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1-2-9-practical-factors-affecting-membrane-structure-and-permeability as
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1-2-10-biochemical-tests-reducing-sugars-and-starch as
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1-2-11-biochemical-tests-lipids as
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1-2-12-biochemical-tests-proteins as
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1-2-13-chromatography as
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1-2-14-serial-dilutions as
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1-2-15-practical-investigating-the-rate-of-transpiration as
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1-2-16-practical-using-a-light-microscope as
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1-2-1-practical-ethical-use-of-organisms as
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2-1-cell-structure AS9 主题
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2-1-2-using-a-microscope as
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2-1-3-drawing-cells as
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2-1-4-magnification-and-resolution as
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2-1-5-eukaryotic-cells as
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2-1-6-eukaryotic-cells-under-the-microscope as
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2-1-7-organelles-and-the-production-of-proteins as
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2-1-8-the-cytoskeleton as
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2-1-9-prokaryotic-and-eukaryotic-cells as
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2-1-1-studying-cells as
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2-1-2-using-a-microscope as
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2-2-biological-molecules AS17 主题
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2-2-1-properties-of-water as
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2-2-2-monomers-and-polymers as
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2-2-3-monosaccharides as
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2-2-4-the-glycosidic-bond as
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2-2-5-polysaccharides as
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2-2-6-biochemical-tests-reducing-sugars-and-starch as
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2-2-7-lipids-and-ester-bonds as
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2-2-8-lipids-structure-and-function as
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2-2-9-biochemical-tests-lipids as
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2-2-10-amino-acids-and-peptide-bonds as
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2-2-11-protein-structure as
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2-2-12-globular-proteins as
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2-2-13-fibrous-proteins as
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2-2-14-inorganic-ions as
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2-2-15-biochemical-tests-proteins as
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2-2-16-finding-the-concentration-of-a-substance as
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2-2-17-chromatography as
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2-2-1-properties-of-water as
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2-3-nucleotides-and-nucleic-acids AS8 主题
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2-4-enzymes AS9 主题
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2-4-1-the-role-of-enzymes as
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2-4-2-enzyme-action as
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2-4-3-enzyme-activity-ph as
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2-4-4-enzyme-activity-temperature as
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2-4-5-enzyme-activity-enzyme-concentration as
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2-4-6-enzyme-activity-substrate-concentration as
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2-4-7-enzyme-activity-enzyme-inhibitors as
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2-4-8-coenzymes-cofactors-and-prosthetic-groups as
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2-4-9-practical-measuring-enzyme-activity as
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2-4-1-the-role-of-enzymes as
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2-5-biological-membranes AS9 主题
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2-5-1-the-cell-surface-membrane as
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2-5-2-membrane-structure-and-permeability as
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2-5-3-diffusion-and-facilitated-diffusion as
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2-5-4-practical-investigating-the-rate-of-diffusion as
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2-5-5-active-transport as
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2-5-6-endocytosis-and-exocytosis as
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2-5-7-osmosis as
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2-5-8-osmosis-in-animal-and-plant-cells as
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2-5-9-practical-investigating-water-potential as
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2-5-1-the-cell-surface-membrane as
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2-6-cell-division-cell-diversity-and-cellular-organisation AS11 主题
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2-6-1-the-cell-cycle as
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2-6-2-the-stages-of-mitosis as
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2-6-3-identifying-mitosis-in-plant-cells as
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2-6-4-the-significance-of-mitosis as
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2-6-5-the-stages-of-meiosis as
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2-6-6-the-significance-of-meiosis as
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2-6-7-specialised-cells as
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2-6-8-the-organisation-of-cells as
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2-6-9-stem-cells as
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2-6-10-stem-cells-in-animals-and-plants as
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2-6-11-the-use-of-stem-cells as
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2-6-1-the-cell-cycle as
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3-1-exchange-surfaces AS7 主题
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3-2-transport-in-animals AS12 主题
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3-2-1-the-need-for-transport-systems-in-animals as
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3-2-2-circulatory-systems as
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3-2-3-blood-vessels as
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3-2-4-tissue-fluid as
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3-2-5-the-mammalian-heart as
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3-2-6-practical-mammalian-heart-dissection as
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3-2-7-the-cardiac-cycle as
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3-2-8-cardiac-output as
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3-2-9-heart-action-initiation-and-control as
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3-2-10-electrocardiograms-ecgs as
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3-2-11-the-role-of-haemoglobin as
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3-2-12-adult-and-fetal-haemoglobin as
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3-2-1-the-need-for-transport-systems-in-animals as
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3-3-transport-in-plants AS11 主题
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3-3-1-the-need-for-transport-systems-in-plants as
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3-3-2-the-xylem-and-phloem as
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3-3-3-the-xylem as
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3-3-4-the-phloem as
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3-3-5-transverse-sections-stems-roots-and-leaves as
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3-3-6-the-process-of-transpiration as
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3-3-7-transpiration-in-plants as
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3-3-8-practical-investigating-the-rate-of-transpiration as
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3-3-9-translocation as
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3-3-10-the-mass-flow-hypothesis as
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3-3-11-the-adaptations-of-xerophytic-and-hydrophytic-plants as
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3-3-1-the-need-for-transport-systems-in-plants as
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4-1-communicable-diseases-disease-prevention-and-the-immune-system AS16 主题
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4-1-1-common-pathogens-and-communicable-diseases as
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4-1-2-transmission-of-communicable-pathogens as
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4-1-3-plant-defences-against-pathogens as
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4-1-4-non-specific-immune-responses as
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4-1-5-phagocytes as
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4-1-6-blood-cells as
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4-1-7-the-t-lymphocyte-response as
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4-1-8-the-b-lymphocyte-response as
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4-1-9-primary-and-secondary-immune-responses as
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4-1-10-antibodies as
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4-1-11-opsonins-agglutinins-and-anti-toxins as
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4-1-12-types-of-immunity as
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4-1-13-autoimmune-diseases as
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4-1-14-principles-of-vaccination as
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4-1-15-sources-of-medicine as
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4-1-16-antibiotics as
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4-1-1-common-pathogens-and-communicable-diseases as
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4-2-biodiversity AS10 主题
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4-2-1-biodiversity as
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4-2-2-sampling-to-determine-biodiversity as
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4-2-3-practical-investigating-biodiversity-using-sampling as
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4-2-4-measuring-species-richness-and-species-evenness as
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4-2-5-simpsons-index as
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4-2-6-genetic-diversity as
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4-2-7-factors-affecting-biodiversity as
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4-2-8-reasons-for-maintaining-biodiversity as
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4-2-9-methods-of-maintaining-biodiversity as
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4-2-10-conservation-agreements as
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4-2-1-biodiversity as
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4-3-classification-and-evolution AS15 主题
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4-3-1-classification-of-species as
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4-3-2-binomial-system as
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4-3-3-classification-of-the-three-domains as
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4-3-4-classification-of-the-five-kingdoms as
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4-3-5-classification-and-phylogeny as
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4-3-6-evidence-of-evolution as
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4-3-7-types-of-variation as
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4-3-8-standard-deviation as
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4-3-9-variation-t-test-method as
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4-3-10-variation-t-test-worked-example as
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4-3-11-spearmans-rank-correlation as
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4-3-12-adaptation as
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4-3-13-natural-selection as
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4-3-14-evolution-of-resistance as
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4-3-15-consequences-of-resistance as
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4-3-1-classification-of-species as
2-6-3-identifying-mitosis-in-plant-cells as
Exam code:H020
Identifying Mitosis in Plant Cells
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Growth in plants occurs in specific regions called meristems
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The root tip meristem can be used to study mitosis
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The root tip meristem can be found just behind the protective root cap
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In the root tip meristem, there is a zone of cell division that contains cells undergoing mitosis
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Pre-prepared slides of root tips can be studied or temporary slides can be prepared using the squash technique (root tips are stained and then gently squashed, spreading the cells out into a thin sheet and allowing individual cells undergoing mitosis to be clearly seen)

Micrograph showing a stained root tip
Method
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Garlic or onion (Allium cepa) root tips are most commonly used (the bulbs can be encouraged to grow roots by suspending them over water for a week or two)
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Remove the tips of the roots (about 1cm) and place in a suitable stain (eg. warm, acidified acetic orcein, which stains chromosomes a deep purple)
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The stained root tip is gently squashed on a glass slide using a blunt instrument (eg. the handle of a mounting needle)
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Cells undergoing mitosis (similar to those in the images below) can be seen and drawn
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Annotations can then be added to these drawings to show the different stages of mitosis
Analysis

Micrograph showing a cell undergoing prophase (P)

Micrograph showing cells undergoing metaphase (M) and anaphase (A)

Micrograph showing cells undergoing metaphase (M) and anaphase (A)

Micrograph showing a cell undergoing anaphase (A)
Limitations
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It can be very difficult to distinguish between prophase and telophase in cells
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Looking at the number of nuclei within one cell can help to identify which stage is likely to be occurring. If there are multiple nuclei within one cell then telophase is occurring.
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The size of cells or structures of tissues may appear inconsistent in different specimen slides
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Optical microscopes do not have the same magnification power as other types of microscopes and so there are some structures that can not be seen
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The treatment of specimens when preparing slides could alter the structure of cells
Examiner Tips and Tricks
It is important to be able to recognise each mitotic stage from electron micrographs and to be able to explain why that cell is in the stage you have selected.
Responses