Unit 2 Flashcards
What is mitosis used for?
Growth and repair of cells.
How many copies of each chromosome do body cells have?
2
What does a body cell when it divides need to do?
Make new cells identical to the original cell.
Define mitosis.
Mitosis is when a cell reproduces itself by splitting to form two identical offspring.
What is the DNa like in a cell that’s not dividing?
It is all spread out in long strings.
What does it mean if a cell gets a signal to divide?
Needs to duplicate DNA.
What happens when DNA is duplicated?
It forms X shape chromosomes and each arm is a duplicate of the other.
What happens after DNa is duplicated in mitosis?
Chromosomes line up at the centre of the cell and cell fibres pull them apart. Two arms of each chromosome goes to opposite ends of the cell.
What happens after the arms of each chromosome goes to opposite sides of the cell in mitosis?
Membranes form around each of the sets which become the nuclei of the two new cells.
What is the final stage in mitosis?
The cytoplasm divides leaving two cells containing the same DNA and are identical.
Name an example of an organism that reproduces using mitosis.
Strawberry plants which form runners which turn into new plants. This means the offspring have exactly the same genes as the parent with no genetic variation.
When do scientists believe life began?
3-4 billions of years ago.
What are some of the best evidence from history of life?
Fossils.
Define fossils.
Remains of organisms from many thousands of years ago or millions that are found preserved in ice, rocks and other places.
How are fossils formed?
When an animal/plant does not decay after death, when parts of an animal are replaced by minerals, from traces of animals such as footprints and from the hard parts of an animal.
Why might an animal or plant not decay after death?
One or more conditions for decay are not present such as enough oxygen, temperature may be too low and poisonous gases may have killed off bacteria that cause decay.
What happens when an animal or plant does not decay after death?
Preserved in ice then scientists can extract DNA and compare it to modern organisms.
What are the most common fossils?
Hard parts of animal or plant are replaced with minerals.
Why is there an incomplete record of fossils?
Many of the earlier life forms were soft bodied organisms so little fossil trace. This is why there is little evidence of how life began.
Why did most organisms not become fossilised?
Right conditions for fossil formation were rare.
How was some fossils formed in rocks destroyed?
By geological activity, broken down, worn away, melted or buried.
What are the stages of fossil formation?
The reptile dies and falls to the ground
The flesh rots leaving the skeleton to be covered in sand soil or clay before damage
Skeleton becomes mineralised and turns to rock. Rocks shift in earth with fossil trapped inside
Eventually the fossil emerges as the rocks move and erosion happens
What do the fossil records help us to understand?
How much organisms have changed since life developed on Earth.
Why is the understanding limited of how organisms have changed since life developed?
Because only small bits of skeletons or little bits of shells have been found.