1. Distinguish between somatic and reproductive cell division and explain the importance of each.
Somatic cells consists of all the body cells except the germ cells - gametes. Somatic cell division, also called mitosis, produces two genetically identical cells and it ends up with 46 chromosomes in the daughter cells. In contrast, reproductive cell division, also known as meiosis, is mainly to produce gametes and reduces the number of chromosomes in the parent cell by half.
2. What is the significance of interphase?
Interphase is a state of high metabolic activity as it prepares the cell for cell division. This is where the cell grows and replicate its DNA.