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NEET Cell Cycle and Cell Division: 5 practice MCQs

By the PrepMatic team · Updated 9 Oct 2026 · 3 min read

Cell Cycle and Cell Division is a short Class 11 Biology chapter with a lot of repeatable questions, because mitosis and meiosis can be tested in many ways: stages, chromosome counts, what happens where. The five MCQs below test the phase of DNA replication, counting chromatids, crossing over, the separation of homologous chromosomes and the result of meiosis.

What this chapter covers in the NEET syllabus

Cell cycle, mitosis and meiosis belong to the NMC unit Cell Structure and Function, and in NCERT they form the Class 11 chapter Cell Cycle and Cell Division. The topics are:

• The phases of the cell cycle: interphase (G1, S, G2) and the M phase; the quiescent G0 stage.
• Mitosis: prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase, and cytokinesis.
• The significance of mitosis.
• Meiosis I and II, the five stages of prophase I (leptotene, zygotene, pachytene, diplotene and diakinesis), and the significance of meiosis.

Five practice MCQs on Cell Cycle and Cell Division

Question 1

During which phase of the cell cycle does DNA replication take place?

• A. G1 phase
• B. S phase
• C. G2 phase
• D. M phase

Question 2

A human somatic cell has 46 chromosomes. The number of chromatids present in the cell at metaphase of mitosis is:

• A. 23
• B. 46
• C. 92
• D. 184

Question 3

Crossing over between non-sister chromatids of homologous chromosomes occurs during which sub-stage of prophase I of meiosis?

• A. Leptotene
• B. Zygotene
• C. Diplotene
• D. Pachytene

Question 4

In meiosis, homologous chromosomes separate during:

• A. anaphase I
• B. anaphase II
• C. anaphase of mitosis
• D. metaphase I

Question 5

A diploid cell with 14 chromosomes undergoes meiosis. The chromosome number in each daughter cell is:

• A. 14
• B. 7
• C. 28
• D. 21

Answers and explanations

1. B. In S (synthesis) phase the DNA content doubles from 2C to 4C, while the chromosome number stays the same. G1 is for cell growth and G2 for preparing to divide.
2. C. At metaphase each of the 46 chromosomes has already replicated into two sister chromatids held at the centromere, so there are 46 × 2 = 92 chromatids. The chromosome number is still 46. The chromosome number counts centromeres.
3. D. Recombination takes place in pachytene, when the synaptonemal complex is fully formed and recombination nodules appear. The visible result, the chiasmata, is seen in diplotene.
4. A. In anaphase I the homologous chromosomes move to opposite poles, with the sister chromatids still attached. In anaphase II and in mitosis it is the sister chromatids that separate.
5. B. Meiosis halves the chromosome number: 2n = 14 gives four daughter cells, each with n = 7. The reduction occurs at meiosis I.

How to prepare Cell Cycle and Cell Division

• Build one table with stage by stage events. Mitosis in one column and meiosis I and II in another: what the chromosomes look like and what the spindle does at each stage. Add the key terms (kinetochore, synapsis, bivalent, chiasma).
• Use a tracking method for numbers. For any question on DNA content, chromosome number or chromatids, note the starting condition (2n, 2C) and how each stage changes it: S doubles the DNA, anaphase I halves chromosome number, anaphase II separates chromatids.
• Learn the five sub-stages of prophase I in order and one defining event for each: leptotene (chromosomes condense), zygotene (synapsis), pachytene (crossing over), diplotene (chiasmata appear and the synaptonemal complex dissolves), diakinesis (terminalisation, the nuclear envelope breaks down).
• Compare mitosis and meiosis in a standard grid: number of divisions, daughter cells, ploidy, genetic variation, where it occurs.
• Draw the stages. Quick sketches of each stage in a 2n = 4 cell show the logic better than reading.

An hour a day for three days makes this chapter secure. See the NEET Biology preparation guide for planning, and the NEET syllabus for the unit list.

Take a full Cell Cycle and Division test on PrepMatic

Test mitosis and meiosis together: a PrepMatic topic test (about 15 questions in 30 minutes) shows whether the chromosome-counting questions are secure. Scores use NEET's negative marking, and topic tests are in the free Basic plan. Continue from the practice hub.

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