1. The human gametes have about 3 billion bp of DNA in their chromosomes.

a. Express the size of the diploid genome in kb (kilo bases; 1kb = 1000bp)
b. If the entire DNA was in relaxed B-DNA form, what would be the average length of a
chromosome expressed in cm?
c. On average, how many complete turns would be in each chromosome?
d. If there are around 30-40,000 genes in a human gamete, how many genes are there in an
average chromosome?

2. Define homologous chromosomes.

3. Define non-homologous chromosomes.

4. How many homologous chromosomes are there in a germ cell of a woman? Of a man?

5. Distinguish between homologous chromosomes and sister chromatides.

6. What is the purpose of cell division in Prokaryotes? In Eukaryotes?

7. Distinguish between DNA replication and cell division.

8. Distinguish between reason/purpose for/of mitosis and reason/purpose for/of meiosis?

9. How is variability of genetic information attained by meiosis and fertilization?

10. What is a cell cycle? What are the stages of cell cycle?

11. List and briefly describe the checkpoints in cell cycle. What is their purpose?

12. What can trigger arrest during the cell cycle?

13. How many chromosomes are there in a somatic cell of a person with Down syndrome (trisomy of
chromosome 21)

a) How many autosoms does this person have in a somatic cell?

b) How many sex chromosomes does this person have in a somatic cell? In a germ cell? In a
gamete? In a spermatozoid? In an ovum? In a zygote?
c) How many DNA molecules does this person have in mitotic metaphase? In G1 phase?
d) How many telomeres are there in a person’s somatic cell during G2 phase?
e) There are 4 alleles for a certain gene carried by chromosome 21 in human population. How
many allele copies does a person with Down syndrome have in a somatic cell in G1 phase?
How many different alleles for this gene could the same person have?

Next 3 questions: there are 13 alleles for a certain gene carried by chromosome 21 in human
population.

f) How many allele copies does a person with Down syndrome have in a somatic cell in G1
phase? How many different alleles for this gene could the same person have?
g) How many allele copies does a person with Down syndrome have in a cell which is in meiosis I
anaphase?
h) How many different alleles for this gene could the same person have in a cell which is in
meiosis I anaphase?

Suggestion: re-make the questions e-h but for a gene carried by chromosome 5.

14. When does chromosome segregation happen in mitosis? In meiosis? When does chromatide
segregation happen in mitosis? In meiosis?