1. Somatic cell division is the mechanism by which a somatic cell undergoes mitosis (nuclear division) and cytokinesis (cytoplasmic division) to produce two daughter cells that are identical to the parent cell. This cell division is essential as it replaces dead or injured cells with new ones through this process. Reproductive cell division, on the other hand, is the process wherein a zygote undergoes meiosis (two-step division) to produce four daughter cells that are genetically different from the parent cell and each has a haploid number of chromosomes. The importance of this is to maintain a correct number for the sex cell, which prevents abnormalities such as polyploidy.
2. The significance of interphase is that it allows the cell to grow and copy its chromosomes in preparation for cell division.