04 05 Cell Cycle Lab Report
04 05 Cell Cycle Lab Report
Instructions: For this lab activity, you will examine a section of an onion root tip under a
compound light microscope to determine the approximate amount of time spent in each stage of
a cell’s life cycle. At the end of your lab activity, you will complete chi-square testing using some
of your data. Submit your lab report to your instructor when completed.
Objective(s): determine the approximate amount of time spent in each state of cell’s life cycle
Hypothesis: If a cell cycle stage is documented for the largest amount of time, it will be the longest.
Write a hypothesis, using an if/then statement, to predict the stage in which a cell spends most of
its time.
Procedure:
Access the virtual lab and complete both examinations of onion root tip cells. The materials are
listed for you. However, you are responsible for providing a brief summary of the steps you
followed during the experimental procedure.
Materials:
Summary of Steps:
Data:
Table 1
Record any observations about the cells you observed. What does the cell look like for each
stage? What is a distinguishing visible feature of each stage of the cell cycle?
Description of cell
Interphase
Mitosis Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telophase
Table 2
Record the number of cells you observed in each part of the lab activity.
Table 3
In this table, list the number of cells in interphase for each trial, then add up all the other stages
under the mitosis column. Place these numbers in the chart below:
Interphase Mitosis
Trial One- Control
Trial Two- Treated
Calculations
Calculate the percentage of the cell cycle spent in each stage for both trials. Number of cells in
given stage ÷ total number of cells counted × 100 = % of the cell cycle spent in this stage.
Record your percentages below:
Conclusion:
Based on your data, what can you infer about the length of time spent in each stage of the
cell cycle?
What stages were the longest and shortest? Give a brief explanation of why these stages
may have that time period.
Does your data support or fail to support your hypotheses (include examples)?
Discuss the sources of error that could impact the results of this investigation if it were
repeated in a physical laboratory.
Lab Reflection Questions
Answer the reflection questions using what you have learned from the lesson and your
experimental data. It will be helpful to refer to your class notes. Answer questions in complete
sentences.
1. What differences can you see when you compare the nucleus of a dividing cell with that
of a non-dividing cell?
2. If your observation had not been restricted to the tip of the onion root, how would the
results be different?
3. If you need assistance on chi-square hypothesis testing for the question below, refer to
the pre-lab activity of your lesson.
Interphase Mitosis
Sample One 11 14
Sample Two 9 16
Sample Three 12 13
p- Degrees of Freedom
value 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
0.05 3.84 5.99 7.82 9.49 11.07 12.59 14.07 15.11
0.01 6.64 9.21 11.34 13.28 15.09 16.81 18.48 20.09
d) Based on the chi-square and critical value, draw a conclusion about the null
hypothesis.