Tutoring hours from just $25! N26 IB exam session special: Biology, Chemistry and Economics $25, Maths SL and English $35, until 12 November.
LimeAdmissionsPractice

Practice · Biology · 2025 syllabus · D2.1

IB Biology D2.1 Cell and nuclear division: practice questions

5 exam-style questions on D2.1 Cell and nuclear division, SL and HL, 1 marked HL: 3 multiple choice, 1 data-based and 1 short answer. Each one comes with the mark scheme, a model answer and the reasoning behind every mark. Free with your email.

Try one

D2.1-01 · Paper 1A style · multiple choice · 1 mark

Cytokinesis in two kingdoms

Which row correctly describes how the cytoplasm is divided in animal cells and in plant cells? [1]

  1. Animal: vesicles fuse to build new membrane and cell wall. Plant: a ring of actin and myosin contracts.
  2. Animal: spindle microtubules pull the membrane inwards. Plant: vesicles fuse to build new membrane and cell wall.
  3. Animal: a ring of actin and myosin contracts. Plant: vesicles fuse to build new membrane and cell wall.
  4. Animal: a ring of actin and myosin contracts. Plant: the cell wall grows inwards and pinches the membrane.
Show the answer and the reasoning

Answer: C. C is correct. In animal cells a contractile ring of actin and myosin pinches the membrane in two; in plant cells vesicles gather at the equator and fuse, assembling membrane and a new wall between the daughter cells. A swaps the two mechanisms. B gives spindle microtubules a role they do not have; they move chromosomes, not the membrane. D describes the plant wall pinching inwards, but a rigid wall cannot constrict; the new wall is built from the centre outwards.

The other 4 open with your email, with the same mark scheme and reasoning.

Open the questions

Free while in beta. Type your email and every question opens straight away.

Signed up before, here or for our past-paper links? Use the same email and you are straight in, on any device. You also get our occasional email on IB exam technique and what we offer. Unsubscribe in any message. How the address is handled.

You are in. Every D2.1 question is open, with your progress.

Open the D2.1 questions

The 5 questions in D2.1

  1. D2.1-01 Cytokinesis in two kingdomsPaper 1A style · multiple choice · 1 mark
  2. D2.1-02 Ordering the events of meiosisPaper 1A style · multiple choice · 1 mark
  3. D2.1-03 Chromatids after replicationPaper 1A style · multiple choice · 1 mark
  4. D2.1-04 DNA content through divisionPaper 2 style · short answer · 7 marks
  5. D2.1-05 Mitotic index of tumoursPaper 1B style · data-based · 10 marks · HL

More of D Continuity and change

Every Biology topic · Biology, Chemistry and Economics

Stuck on a topic?

Go through it with a tutor, the first 30 minutes free.

Biology, Chemistry and Economics, one to one, online.

Book the free session

Free live sessions

Join 100+ IB students in our free live sessions.

Exam technique for IB Biology, Chemistry and Economics, live on Zoom. Follow the calendar and every new session reaches you.

See the free sessions →

Every Biology and Chemistry question here is original, written for practice in the style of the papers set since the 2025 syllabus, with invented data. Developed independently from the International Baccalaureate Organization, which has not endorsed it. Found a mistake? Email vytis@limeadmissions.com with the question id.