Starting from one parent cell, how many mitotic divisions are required to generate a total of 512 cells?

Explanation

Each mitotic division doubles the number of cells. To reach 512 cells, 9 divisions are needed (2^9 = 512). However, the total number of divisions that have occurred across all cells is 511, since each new cell except the original results from one division. Therefore, the total number of mitotic divisions that have taken place to produce 512 cells is 511.