1. Distinguish between somatic and reproductive cell division and explain the importance of each.
Somatic cell division
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Somatic cell division or mitosis refers to the process of dividing a single cell into two cells that are replicas of each other.
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Mitosis is how non-reproductive cells divide. Somatic cells are any cell in the body except gametes (egg and sperm cells).
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This type of cell division is primarily done for basic cell growth and repair.
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In mitosis, the daughter cells have the same number of chromosomes and DNA as the parent cell. Since these cells are exact copies, no genetic diversity is created through mitosis.
Reproductive cell division
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Reproductive cell division or meiosis is the process of dividing a single cell into four cells that have half the number of chromosomes in order to create sex cells.
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Due to the reduction of chromosomes by half, meiosis causes genetic diversity in sexually reproducing organisms.
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After meiosis, the sperm and egg cells can unite to form a new organism.
2. What is the significance of interphase?
During interphase, the cell acquires nutrients and replicates its DNA. Once a cell completes its activities during the three phases of interphase (G1, S, and G2), the process of cell division begins. The main purpose of interphase is to prepare the cell for cellular division, more specifically for the mitotic phase.