The Cell Cycle: From DNA to Mitosis

Section role: supports the formalization of discoveries in section 3 while the teacher guides students through definitions and visual examples of chromosomes. Slides: (1) Title — 'From Blueprints to Life: The Cell Cycle'; (2) DNA Packaging — bullets: unwound chromatin versus tightly packed chromosomes, why organization matters; (3) DNA Replication — connection back to the paper strip replication challenge in section 2; (4) Somatic Cells vs. Gametes — bullets: body cells undergoing mitosis versus sex cells like sperm and egg; (5) Mitosis in Action — bullets: organized stages of division ensuring identical copies, debunking the cell splitting myth; (6) Binary Fission — bullets: simpler division in unicellular organisms like bacteria; (7) Summary and Vocabulary — key terms review. Closing slide: 'How does a single skin cell turn into two exact replicas of itself?' — transitions students into the mapping and verification worksheet in section 4.

Lara from Teachy