Which process does the mnemonic Please Make Another Two help remember?

• A. Mitosis
• B. Meiosis
• C. DNA replication
• D. RNA transcription

Answer: (A)

The main idea this mnemonic helps with is remembering the four stages of mitosis. Please Make Another Two gives the initials P, M, A, T, which stand for Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase, and Telophase in that exact order. These are the sequential stages the cell goes through to divide the chromosomes: chromatin condenses in Prophase, chromosomes align at the center in Metaphase, sister chromatids separate in Anaphase, and the nuclear envelope re-forms in Telophase. Cytokinesis, the splitting of the cytoplasm, often follows and is discussed alongside mitosis but is not one of the four mitotic stages the mnemonic encodes. This mnemonic is distinct from meiosis, which has two rounds of division and different stage names (and includes crossing over). DNA replication occurs earlier in the cell cycle (S phase) and is not a mitotic stage, and RNA transcription is a gene expression process, not part of mitosis. So the mnemonic correctly points to mitosis as the process being memorized.