Cell Cycle and Mitosis Virtual Lab

The cell cycle simulation is a virtual option for a classic biology lab. This can be used as extra practice or an extension of the hands-on lab and is not intended as a replacement for lab work. The data has random components, so the exact numbers will not be the same every time. The simulation and the associated virtual labs draw from Lab 3 in the old AP Biology Lab Manual and Investigation 7 from the current AP Biology Investigative Labs.  

There are six different provided virtual lab options. One is aimed at an introductory high school class (Cell Cycle - Time) and requires students to compare the relative amount of time spent in each phase. The others are aimed at the AP/introductory college level and involve comparing the impact of different treatments on the cell division rate by comparing the proportion of dividing and non-dividing cells. One is set up for a casual comparison (Cell Cycle - Treatments), while the others utilize either chi-square (test of independence or goodness-of-fit) or standard error calculations. See this post for more details.

In addition to the virtual labs, students can practice identifying different cell division stages within the simulation. The number of cells in each phase can be entered and checked to ensure students have basic identification skills. This functionality could be utilized as general practice or to prepare for completing a hands-on lab. 

Practice identifying interphase and the stages of mitosis

A few notes for the chi-square analysis worksheets…

This lab can successfully introduce students to chi-square calculation and the interpretation of results. The walkthrough presented in the worksheet assumes that students are relatively new to statistical analysis. The definitions and explanations of terms like null hypothesis, p-value, and critical value are introductory only, but they meet the needs of the AP Biology curriculum.

Here are some Biology Simulations resources that utilize chi-square analysis:

Chi-square explainer for biology

Population Genetics Virtual Lab

Use Chi-square to test for HW Equilibrium

Use Chi-square to test for inheritance pattern

Testing for evolution with chi-square