Skip to ContentGo to accessibility pageKeyboard shortcuts menu
OpenStax Logo
Biology

Critical Thinking Questions

BiologyCritical Thinking Questions

28.

Compare and contrast a human somatic cell to a human gamete.

29.

What is the relationship between a genome, chromosomes, and genes?

30.

Eukaryotic chromosomes are thousands of times longer than a typical cell. Explain how chromosomes can fit inside a eukaryotic nucleus.

31.

Briefly describe the events that occur in each phase of interphase.

32.

Chemotherapy drugs such as vincristine and colchicine disrupt mitosis by binding to tubulin (the subunit of microtubules) and interfering with microtubule assembly and disassembly. Exactly what mitotic structure is targeted by these drugs and what effect would that have on cell division?

33.

Describe the similarities and differences between the cytokinesis mechanisms found in animal cells versus those in plant cells.

34.

List some reasons why a cell that has just completed cytokinesis might enter the G0 phase instead of the G1 phase.

35.

What cell cycle events will be affected in a cell that produces mutated (non-functional) cohesin protein?

36.

Describe the general conditions that must be met at each of the three main cell cycle checkpoints.

37.

Explain the roles of the positive cell cycle regulators compared to the negative regulators.

38.

What steps are necessary for Cdk to become fully active?

39.

Rb is a negative regulator that blocks the cell cycle at the G1 checkpoint until the cell achieves a requisite size. What molecular mechanism does Rb employ to halt the cell cycle?

40.

Outline the steps that lead to a cell becoming cancerous.

41.

Explain the difference between a proto-oncogene and a tumor suppressor gene.

42.

List the regulatory mechanisms that might be lost in a cell producing faulty p53.

43.

p53 can trigger apoptosis if certain cell cycle events fail. How does this regulatory outcome benefit a multicellular organism?

44.

Name the common components of eukaryotic cell division and binary fission.

45.

Describe how the duplicated bacterial chromosomes are distributed into new daughter cells without the direction of the mitotic spindle.

Order a print copy

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Citation/Attribution

This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's permission.

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Attribution information
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/biology/pages/1-introduction
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a digital format, then you must include on every digital page view the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/biology/pages/1-introduction
Citation information

© Feb 14, 2022 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.