WEEK 4 EXPERIMENT ANSWER SHEET

Please submit to the Week 4 Experiment dropbox no later than Sunday midnight.

SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES FOR WEEK 4 EXPERIMENT ASSIGNMENT

 Experiment 4 Exercise 1 –Mitosis in a Plant Cell

 Experiment 4 Exercise 2 – Meiosis
 Experiment 4 Exercise 3 – Karyotyping

Experiment 4 Exercise 1: Mitosis in a Plant Cell

Read through the Experiment 4 Introduction material before starting. In this exercise we
will look at the different stages of mitosis in onion cells. The length of the cell cycle in
the onion root tip is about 24 hours, but mitosis only occupies only one to two hours.

Procedure
A. Review the information on p 125 in your book and record your predictions as to
the percentage of cells you expect to see in each of the phases of the cell cycle in
Table 1 (after the photographs).
B. In the four photographs below, examine each cell indicated by a red dot. There
are a total of 65 cells that need to be examined. Determine how many cells are in
the various stages of the Cell Cycle. Refer to your book and the Experiment 4
Introduction information for help determining the cell cycle stages.
C. Enter your data in Table 1. Note that the “Calculated %” is equal to the Number
of cells in stage / Total cells counted x 100.
D. Answer the questions that follow.
Table 1: Predictions and actual number of cells observed in each stage of the cell cycle (2
pts)

Number of Total Cells

Stage Predicted % Calculated %
Cells Counted
Interphase 70 45 65 69.2
Prophase 12 5 65 7.7
Metaphase 8 6 65 9.2
Anaphase 5 4 65 6.2
Telophase 5 5 65 7.7
Total 100% 65 65 100%

Questions

1. What stage of the cell cycle were most of the onion root tip cells in (1 pts)?

Most of the onion root tip cells where in the Interphase stage of the cell cycle.

Is this what you would expect based on what you’ve read this week; why or why
not? Cite source(s) used (1 pts).

Yes it was what I expected because as the text states, “typically interphase lasts
for at least 90% of the cell cycle.”

Simon, E.J., J.L. Dickey and J.B. Reece. 2013. Campbell Essential Biology, 5th
Edition. Pearson: Boston

2. How accurate were your predictions, based on your data, for each stage of the
cell cycle (1 pts)?

My prediction was actually pretty accurate. I feel that my predictions where so

close to the actual answers because I took into account that 90% is interphase
with only 10% being mitosis or in other words the 4 remaining stages.

3. What is the function of mitosis in an organism such as a human? Cite source(s)

used (2 pts).

“Ordinarily, when a cell divides by a process called mitosis, the new cells also
have 46 chromosomes. Mitosis is duplication division. In the life cycle of a
human being, mitosis is the type of cell division that takes place during growth
and repair of tissues.” I couldn’t word that explanation any better so to show
understanding mitosis is essential the process the human body uses to make
more cells in order to heal and grow.
 Mader, S., & Windelspecht, M. (2012). Human biology (12th ed.). New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill.

Experiment 4 Exercise 2: Meiosis

Review this week’s reading in your book (pp 131-141) and this week’s online lecture.
Then view the following animation before answering the questions below; be sure your
audio is on:
McGraw-Hill Higher Education. 2006. How Meiosis Works
http://highered.mcgraw-
hill.com/sites/0072495855/student_view0/chapter28/animation__how_meiosi
s_works.html

Questions
1. Why is it necessary to reduce the chromosome number in gamete cells (egg and
sperm), but not other cells of an organism? Cite source(s) used (2 pts).

To have a child through sexual reproduction, they have to jumble up their

genes and combine them together using their gametes. If the man put all of his
46 chromosomes in his sperm and the woman put all of her 46 chromosomes in
her egg, when the sperm and the egg combined, the zygote would have 92
chromosomes! That is way too many! The zygote could not develop into a
person. So, instead, the man and woman have to only put half the number of
chromosomes into each gamete. That means that the sperm would get 23
chromosomes, the egg would get 23 chromosomes, and the zygote would end
up with the correct number of chromosomes, 46, after fertilization.

Mader, S., & Windelspecht, M. (2012). Human biology (12th ed.). New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill.
2. Describe at least two differences between Meiosis I and Meiosis II in terms of
what is produced and what occurs with the chromosomes. Cite source(s) used
(2 pts).

Meiosis 1 occurs by producing genetic recombination in the daughter cells

while in meiosis 2 each of the four daughter cells will contain half the amount
of chromosomes of the parent cell. Another difference is that Meiosis 1 has
five phases: prophase 1, metaphase 1, anaphase 1, telophase 1 and interphase
while meiosis 2 has varying stages depending on the organism.

Mitosis and Meiosis. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2014, from

http://www.diffen.com/difference/Meiosis_vs_Mitosis

3. If humans have 46 chromosomes in each of their body cells, determine how

many chromosomes you would expect to find in the following cells (4 pts):

Sperm 23_______
Liver cell 23_________

Daughter cell from mitosis 46_______

Daughter cell from Meiosis II 46_________

4. _____ are separated during Meiosis I, while _____ are separated during Meiosis
II (2 pts).
a. Sister chromatids, sex chromosomes
b. Sister chromatids, homologous chromosomes
c. Homologous chromosomes, sister chromatids
d. Sex chromosomes, sister chromatids

5. At the beginning of meiosis I, cells are ____ and at the beginning of meiosis II,
they are ____ (2 pts).
 a. Diploid, diploid
b. Diploid, haploid
c. Haploid, haploid
d. Haploid, diploid
Experiment 4 Exercise 3: Karyotyping

Go to the following website:

The Biology Project. 1998. Karyotyping Activity
http://www.biology.arizona.edu/human_bio/activities/karyotyping/karyotyping.
html

Procedure
A. Read over the material on the first page and then click on Patient Histories (at
the bottom of the page).
B. Click on Complete Patient A’s Karyotype. Note a single chromosome located to
the left of the paragraph at the top. You need to match this chromosome with
the appropriate pair.
a. Some of the chromosomes arranged beneath the paragraph are
hyperlinked (have a blue line beneath them).
b. Click on the hyperlink associated with the matching chromosome.
C. Record in Table 2 below the correct match for this first chromosome (a).
D. Continue until you have matched all chromosomes required. Note that the letters
(a-e) correspond to the order that the chromosomes are presented.

Table 2. Patient A karyotype data (1 pts).

Chromosome Presented Matches #

Chromosome a 2
Chromosome b 16
Chromosome c 12
Chromosome d 5
Chromosome e 21
Questions
1. What notation would you use to characterize Patient A's karyotype? Be sure to
read over the information presented so you know the correct notation format (1
pts).
This patient can be identified with the notation of 47, XX, +21. This indicates that
the patient is a female with 47 chromosomes, possessing an extra copy of
chromosome 21.

2. Based on the table of possible chromosomal disorders displayed on the website,

what diagnosis would you give patient A (1 pts)?
Patient A is the nearly-full-term fetus of a forty year old female. Having an extra or
missing chromosome usually renders a fetus inviable but, based on an analysis of
patient A's karyotype, I diagnosed this patient with the likelihood of developing
Down's Syndrome.

3. When during Meiosis does the error occur that results in this karyotype; be
specific (1 pts)?
Errors can occur when the chromosomes segregate into the gametes during
meiosis resulting in egg or sperm with too many or too few chromosomes. As a
result, fertilized eggs and the ensuing embryos may have trisomy in each cell or
monosomy. In this karyotype it is trisomy 21 Down syndrome, the cells have an
extra copy of chromosome 21.

Simon, E.J., J.L. Dickey and J.B. Reece. 2013. Campbell Essential Biology, 5th
Edition. Pearson: Boston

Procedure (continued)
E. Click on the Patient History button (bottom of the page) and then click on
Complete Patient B’s Karyotype.
F. Match the chromosomes presented as done in the previous exercise.
G. Fill in the Table 3 below, indicating how you matched up the chromosomes
presented with the actual chromosomes in the karyotype.

Table 3. Patient B karyotype data (1 pts).

Chromosome Presented Matches #

 Chromosome a 21
Chromosome b 11
Chromosome c 14
Chromosome d X
Chromosome e 3
Chromosome f 20
Chromosome g 10
Chromosome h
XXY
(This is a tough one)

Questions
4. What notation would you use to characterize Patient B's karyotype (1 pts)?
This patient can be identified with the notation of 47, XXY. This notation
indicates that the patient is a male with 47 chromosomes, possessing an extra
sex chromosome.

5. What diagnosis would you give patient B (1 pts)?

Patient B is a 28 year old male who is trying to identify a cause for his infertility.
He was diagnosed with Klinefelter's Syndrome.

6. Why does this individual exhibit male characteristics and not female? Cite your
source (2 pts).
Klinefelter's syndrome (KS) is when males have an extra X chromosome. It is a
genetic problem that only affects boys and men. It is a sex chromosome
trisomy. Instead of being 46, XY, men or boys with KS are usually 47, XXY. “47,
XXY (or XXY) is a genetic condition caused when someone has two X
chromosomes and one Y chromosome. Males normally have an X chromosome
and a Y chromosome (46, XY), and females normally have two X chromosomes
(46, XX). Because people with an XXY chromosome arrangement have a Y
chromosome, they are considered genetic males. Most XXY individuals develop
as males, often not knowing they have an extra chromosome.”

Mader, S., & Windelspecht, M. (2012). Human biology (12th ed.). New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill.

Procedure (continued)
 H. Click on the Patient History button (at the bottom) and then click on Complete
Patient C’s Karyotype.
I. Match the chromosomes presented as done in the previous exercise.
J. Fill in Table 4 below, indicating how you matched up the chromosomes presented
with the actual chromosomes in the karyotype.

Table 4. Patient C karyotype data (2 pts).

Chromosome Presented Matches #

Chromosome a 12
Chromosome b 3
Chromosome c 11
Chromosome d 13
Chromosome e 9
Chromosome f Y
Chromosome g 20
Chromosome h 15
Chromosome i 13

Questions
7. What notation would you use to characterize Patient C's karyotype (1 pts)?
This patient can be identified with the notation of 47,XY, +13. This indicates that
the patient is a male with 47 chromosomes, possessing an extra copy of
chromosome 13.

8. What diagnosis would you give patient C (1 pts)?

Unfortunately, Patient C died shortly after birth, with a multitude of anomalies,
including polydactyly and a cleft lip. As a result of possessing an extra copy of
chromosome 13, the patient was diagnosed with Trisomy 13 syndrome.

9. Why might the risk of this disorder increase as a woman gets older? Cite any
sources used (3 pts).
“When a woman is about 28- 29 years old she starts to loose eggs a little faster,
and by the time she is 35 the rate of loss of eggs is much increased. By the time
a woman is 40 years old, the rate of dying eggs is extremely rapid. A woman
will ovulate approximately 450 eggs in her reproductive lifetime, less than 1%
of her initial count. By the age of 35-40 the quality of her eggs are decreasing,
 such that by age 40 the chance of conceiving (with her own eggs) is no more
than 10- 15 %. As a woman gets older her chances of pregnancy and
subsequent delivery is extremely low, with an increased risk of chromosomal
abnormality. Thus, after 35 years of age, a woman has an increased risk of
having a child with Down's syndrome (and other chromosomal abnormalities
such as Trisomy 13 Syndrome).” (Cuttner, 2013)

I took the quote above straight from the website because I feel it breaks it
down as simple as possible, essentially saying that as women grow older their
quality of their eggs decline and as they decline the chances of chromosomal
abnormality increases. Which is increased because when a weaker egg is in the
meiosis process of; first doubling the chromosomes to 92. Then splitting the
cells into 2 and which leaves each cell with 46. Then the cell splits again so that
each cell ends up with 23. At least that is how it works when everything goes
right. But sometimes the process of splitting up the chromosomes doesn't go
well. When this happens an egg or sperm might get an extra copy of a
chromosome or end up with one less.

Cuttner, G. (2013). Age and Fertility. Retrieved November 12, 2014, from
http://www.fertilitytoday.org/age_infertility.htm

Rodriguez, M. (n.d.). Understanding Genetics. Retrieved November 12, 2014,

from http://genetics.thetech.org/ask/ask234

Week 4 Experiment Grading Rubric

Component Expectation Points

Distinguishes among the various stages of the cell cycle
Experiment 4
and correctly answers the questions (Table 1, Questions 7 pts
Exercise 1 1-3).
Experiment 4 Demonstrates an understanding of meiosis and how it
12 pts
Exercise 2 relates to sexual reproduction (Questions 1-6).
Experiment 4 Creates and uses a karyotype to diagnose genetic disorders
16 pts
Exercise 3 (Tables 2, 3, and 4; Questions 1-9).
TOTAL 35 pts