Telophase is the phase of mitosis in which the distinct individual chromosomes begin to spread out into a tangle of chromatin.

• A. Telophase
• B. Prophase
• C. Metaphase
• D. Anaphase

Answer: (A)

During mitosis, chromosomes condense into visible units in prophase, align at the center in metaphase, and separate in anaphase. In telophase, the chromosomes arrive at the poles and begin to de-condense back into a threadlike form called chromatin, with the nuclear envelope reforming around them. The statement describes this return to chromatin, which is exactly what happens in telophase. The other phases involve further condensation (prophase), lining up (metaphase), or pulling apart (anaphase), not the uncoiling into chromatin seen in telophase. So this phase is telophase.