Final answer:
Skin cells spend approximately 0.5 hours, or 30 minutes, in mitosis if their cell cycle is 24 hours long, with the remainder of the time divided across the other phases of the cell cycle.
Step-by-step explanation:
If the cell cycle for skin cells takes 24 hours, the skin cells spend approximately 0.5 hours, or 30 minutes, in mitosis.
The cell cycle consists of several phases: G1, S, G2, and M. In human cells with a 24-hour cell cycle time, G1 lasts about 9 hours, S phase around 10 hours, and G2 takes approximately 4.5 hours. Given that the total duration is 24 hours, the remaining time is spent in mitosis, which is about 0.5 hours. Mitosis is a critical phase where the cell divides into two daughter cells, each with an identical set of chromosomes. The rapid turnover of skin cells, which ensures the constant renewal of the skin's outer layer, is essential for maintaining skin integrity and healing wounds.