Final answer:
Four cells undergoing mitosis would result in eight daughter cells because mitosis produces two genetically identical daughter cells from each parent cell.
Step-by-step explanation:
If four cells went through mitosis at the same time, the number of daughter cells that would be formed is eight. The process of mitosis is a type of cell division that results in two daughter cells each being genetically identical to the parent cell, maintaining the same number of chromosomes. Now, considering four cells undergoing mitosis, each of them would produce two daughter cells, so the total number of daughter cells formed would be 4 cells × 2 daughter cells per cell, which equals 8 daughter cells.
Figure 9.4 illustrates this process, where a parental cell divides and gives rise to two daughter cells. If we apply this to four parental cells, each dividing into two, we indeed get a total of eight daughter cells. It is also important to recognize that mitosis ensures that each daughter cell has the same genetic information as the original cell, which is crucial for growth, development, and tissue repair in multicellular organisms.