Alberta Biology 30 Cell Division Practice Test

The main idea is how cell division is organized differently in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, focusing on nucleus presence, chromosome structure, and the spindle apparatus. Binary fission happens in prokaryotes, which lack a nucleus and a spindle. The genome is replicated and the cell simply divides, distributing DNA to two new cells without forming chromosomes that need to be separated by a spindle. In contrast, mitosis is a hallmark of eukaryotic cells: the nucleus houses condensed chromosomes, and a spindle made of microtubules helps align and separate those chromosomes before the cell splits the cytoplasm. So this contrast—no nucleus and no spindle in simple binary fission versus a nucleus with condensed chromosomes and a spindle in mitosis—captures the key differences.

Because binary fission does not involve a spindle, and because mitosis relies on chromosome condensation and spindle mechanisms to ensure accurate distribution, the other statements don’t fit. Prokaryotes lack a spindle apparatus, so saying binary fission uses a spindle is incorrect. Mitosis does not produce four genetically different daughter cells—that outcome is characteristic of meiosis, not mitosis. And binary fission does not involve a nucleus breakdown, since there is no nucleus to disassemble and DNA replication occurs before division.