During which stage of mitosis do the chromatids separate?

During mitosis, the stage in which the chromatids separate is anaphase. At this point, the sister chromatids, which have been aligned at the metaphase plate, are pulled apart by the spindle fibers toward opposite poles of the cell. This separation is crucial for ensuring that each daughter cell will receive an identical set of chromosomes after cell division.

In prophase, the chromosomes condense and become visible, but the chromatids are still joined together at the centromere. Metaphase involves the alignment of chromosomes along the equatorial plane of the cell, but again, the chromatids remain attached. Telophase follows anaphase and is characterized by the reformation of the nuclear membrane around the separated chromosomes, leading to the eventual division of the cytoplasm, but it is not the stage where separation occurs. Thus, the focus on the separation of chromatids clearly marks anaphase as the correct stage in this process.