Draw a neat, labelled diagram of an animal cell showing Metaphase with four chromosomes.

Your diagram must show: • FOUR chromosomes, each with two CHROMATIDS joined at a CENTROMERE, arranged ALONG THE EQUATOR of the cell in a single plane • NO nuclear membrane and NO nucleolus (both have disappeared) • two CENTRIOLES at opposite poles • SPINDLE FIBRES running from the poles and ATTACHED to the centromeres • CELL MEMBRANE and cytoplasm — no cell wall

Labels required: chromosome, chromatid, centromere, spindle fibre, centriole, equator, cell membrane.

WHAT IDENTIFIES METAPHASE, and what the examiner looks for first: the chromosomes are LINED UP AT THE EQUATOR in one plane, and the spindle fibres are ATTACHED to their centromeres. Draw them in a straight line across the middle.

Each of the four instructions carries marks: ANIMAL cell — no cell wall, no chloroplasts; centrioles MUST be shown METAPHASE — chromosomes at the equator, still double. If they are scattered it is prophase; if they are moving apart it is anaphase FOUR chromosomes — count them LABELLED — an unlabelled diagram earns very little

Compare with the 2026 paper, which asked for PROPHASE with four chromosomes. The difference in the drawing is precisely whether the chromosomes are scattered with the nuclear membrane breaking down (prophase) or aligned at the equator with the membrane gone (metaphase).