Q. How does the quantity of genetic material differ within the cell during the sequential phases of the cell cycle?
The first period of the first phase interphase of the cell cycle is the G1 followed by S and G2 and then by the mitotic phase.
In G1 the ploidy (the quantity of DNA molecules in the cell) can be represented by the formula 2n here n is the number of DNA molecules in a gamete cell of a given species. In S DNA duplicates and the quantity of genetic material increases from 2n to 4n. In G2 that quantity is constant 4n. Later than the mitotic phase the quantity of genetic material decreases to 2n in each daughter cell.