I'm confused on labelling the stages of mitosis in these onion cells. I know what these stages look like illustrated in the textbook, but am confused when looking at actual slides of cells. Can anyone help? Photo is attached.

Hello. I numbered your cells to make it easier to name them. The image with the numbers is attached.

cell 1: Interphase.

Cell 2: Telophase.

Cell 3: Metaphase.

Cell 4: Prophase

Cell 5: Interphase.

Cell 6: Anaphase.

Explanation:

In the interphase, it is possible to notice that the cell increased its volume, due to the increase in the size of the organelles and the increase in the number of the organelles, which indicates the beginning of the cell cycle.

Prophase is really the beginning of the cell cycle. At that moment, you can see that the nuclear membrane has been disorganized and we can see a 'tangle' of the cell interior that is very full and disorganized. This is mainly because the material present in the nucleol spreads through the cell.

In the metaphase, the chromosomes are condensed and start to connect to each other forming the spindle fibers, which are located right in the middle of the cell, forming the equatorial plate.

In anaphase there is a rupture of the centromeres and sister chromatids. Each part of these elements migrates to one of the poles of the cell. This is mainly due to the shortening of the spindle fibers.

Telophase is the final phase of the cell cycle, at that moment, the spindle fibers disappear, the chromosomes are condensed and the nuclear membrane is reconstructed. However, the cell has not yet separated and it is possible to see two nuclei in a single cell, each nucleus is at a pole, indicating that the division will occur.