Explain · Like I'm five version
Mitosis in terms of a franchise opening a second branch
Mitosis is just like when your favourite shop decides to open a brand new store down the street.
The original shop first has to get everything ready for the big move. It makes a perfect copy of all its stock, from the toys on the shelves to the big sign out front. It carefully packs up two full sets of everything so the new shop will have exactly the same things as the first one. It is a very busy time because you need to make sure every single Lego brick is copied and put in the right box.
Once all the work is done, the shop pulls its big curtains shut and gets ready to split into two. The space inside stretches out until it is long and thin like a piece of taffy. Then, with a gentle push, the building snaps into two separate shops. Now there are two identical stores standing side by side, and both of them are ready to open their doors to all the happy customers.
Each new shop is now fully in charge of its own business. They do not need to call the first shop for help because they have all the instructions they need tucked away in their back offices. They will grow and keep selling toys just like the first shop did. One day, each of these shops might even get big enough to open their own branches too, making even more shops for everyone.
Where the analogy breaks downA shop cannot actually divide itself in half to create two stores.