Modeling Mitosis with Phineus the Fruit Fly

Deep within the forest, five fruit flies are happily preparing for a picnic.

One of the flies is named “Phineus.” This is a nickname given to him by his friends.

His true scientific name is Drosophila melangaster which means “fruit fly.”

Their feast of fruit is finally ready to enjoy. Eager to chow down, all the flies race to

find a seat.

Suddenly, without warning, a fly swatter appears out of nowhere and hits Phineus.

Phineus is knocked into the air and lands on the ground. With a broken wing, he has

injured many cells.

OUCH! That hurt!

Luckily, Phineus has the process of MITOSIS to help his cells divide. As his cells divide, new

ones will replace the damaged ones. These new ones are IDENTICAL to the rest of his body.

Thank goodness for

MITOSIS!

The normal body cells of a fruit fly contain 8 chromosomes. Today, you will model MITOSIS. This way, when each of Phineus’s cells divide, the new cells will also have 8 chromosomes.

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Video Animations

Watch this clip titled “Cell Division and the Cell Cycle” until 4min17sec.

Watch this clip titled “Mitosis_Hybrid Medical Animation”.

Quick Assessment

Telophase Metaphase Prophase Anaphase