A cell makes a copy of its dna during the stage of the cell cycle called mitosis.

a. true

b. false

False! The cell has already replicated its DNA (during S phase, "S" for "synthesis" phase) previously. Only after the DNA has been replicated, does mitosis begin.

Remember, the cell cycle is: Interphase - - > Mitosis - - > Interphase - - > Mitosis.--> ...

And each interphase is itself broken into three stages:

Gap stage 1 (G1), Synthesis (S), and Gap stage 2 G2), and it's during the S stage of interphase that the DNA is replicated.

As a side note, cells which stop dividing (such as most neurons) leave the cell cycle in G1 and go into a stage called G0.