VISUAL SKILLS The light micrograph shows dividing cells near the tip of an onion root. Identify a cell in each of the following stages: prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. Describe the major events occurring at each stage.

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1. Identify each stage by examining the arrangement and appearance of chromosomes and the spindle fibers. In prophase, look for cells where chromatin condenses into visible chromosomes and the nuclear envelope begins to break down. Spindle fibers start to form.
2. In prometaphase, identify cells where the nuclear envelope is completely dissolved, and chromosomes are more condensed. Spindle fibers attach to the kinetochores of chromosomes.
3. For metaphase, find cells where chromosomes are aligned at the metaphase plate (equatorial plane) of the cell, with spindle fibers attached to the kinetochores of the chromosomes.
4. In anaphase, look for cells where sister chromatids are separating and moving towards opposite poles of the cell, pulled by the spindle fibers.
5. For telophase, identify cells where chromosomes arrive at the poles and begin to decondense, nuclear envelopes re-form around each set of chromosomes, and the spindle fibers disassemble. This stage is followed by cytokinesis, where the cell divides into two.