Interphase is basically the beginning of mitosis, or you could think of it as preparing the cell for mitosis or meiosis.  Many people think that interphase actually is the first stage of mitosis, but it actually is not.  Prophase is the first stage of mitosis because mitosis is the division of the cell, and once again interphase is what prepares the cell for mitosis.  During interphase the main thing that happens is that the DNA strands thicken into chromatin.  Then the chromatin thickens into a certain amount of chromosomes depending on the animal or plant.  A cell spends most of its time in this stage, and is mainly just performing normal cell processes during this time.  So this is basically what interphase is.



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