Mitosis enables growth, repair, and asexual reproduction but not gamete production

Steps:

• Identify mitosis as the process for dividing somatic cells to produce identical daughter cells.
• Recall that growth and tissue repair in multicellular organisms use mitosis to increase cell number.
• Note asexual reproduction, like binary fission in unicellular organisms, relies on mitosis for cloning.
• Recognize gamete production requires meiosis, not mitosis, to create haploid cells.

Why B is correct:

• Option B (1, 3, and 4) matches processes involving somatic cell division: growth (1), asexual reproduction (3), and tissue repair (4), per the definition of mitosis as equational division.

Why the others are wrong:

• A includes 2 (gamete production), which uses meiosis, not mitosis.
• C omits 3 and 4, ignoring mitosis's role in asexual reproduction and repair.
• D excludes 1, overlooking mitosis's necessity for organismal growth.

Final answer: B