DNA & RNA Notes

Question 1

What is the Central Dogma of molecular biology?

Answer 1

The Central Dogma describes the flow of genetic information from DNA to RNA to protein.

The processes involved are replication, transcription, and translation.

Question 2

What is the first process in the Central Dogma?

Answer 2

Replication

Question 3

What is the second process in the Central Dogma?

Answer 3

Transcription

Question 4

What is the third process in the Central Dogma?

Answer 4

Translation

Question 5

What occurs during DNA replication?

Answer 5

The DNA double-helix opens up, free-floating nucleotides line up with their partners, and two identical DNA helices are created.

Question 6

What is the role of DNA helicase in DNA replication?

Answer 6

DNA helicase opens up the DNA to be replicated.

Question 7

During which phase does DNA replication occur?

Answer 7

Interphase

Question 8

What types of nucleotides are present in RNA?

Answer 8

Adenine (A), Uracil (U), Guanine (G), Cytosine (C)

Question 9

What is the function of mRNA?

Answer 9

mRNA serves as a messenger carrying the genetic information from DNA to the ribosome.

Question 10

What is the function of tRNA?

Answer 10

tRNA transports amino acids to the ribosome.

Question 11

What is the function of rRNA?

Answer 11

rRNA is a structural component of ribosomes, facilitating translation.

Question 12

What is the first step in transcription?

Answer 12

A small section of DNA is opened up.

Question 13

In transcription, what does the DNA strand act as?

Answer 13

A template for mRNA synthesis.

Question 14

What initiates the translation process?

Answer 14

The mRNA strand connects to the ribosome.

Question 15

What is a codon?

Answer 15

A sequence of three nucleotides in mRNA that codes for a specific amino acid.

Question 16

What is a stop codon?

Answer 16

UAG, UAA, or UGA, which signals the end of translation.

Question 17

What are mutations?

Answer 17

Mistakes or errors in DNA replication that result in changes to the hereditary material.

Question 18

What can cause mutations?

Answer 18

Exposure to chemicals or environmental conditions.

Question 19

What is a gene mutation?

Answer 19

A change in the base sequence of a gene.

Question 20

What is a point mutation?

Answer 20

A single base substitution.

Question 21

What is a silent mutation?

Answer 21

A mutation that does not change the amino acid sequence.

Question 22

What is a nonsense mutation?

Answer 22

A mutation that results in a stop codon, truncating the protein.

Question 23

What is a missense mutation?

Answer 23

A mutation that changes a codon to specify a different amino acid.

Question 24

What is a deletion mutation?

Answer 24

A mutation where one or more base pairs are lost from the DNA.

Question 25

What is an insertion mutation?

Answer 25

A mutation where additional base pairs are added to the DNA sequence.

Question 26

What is a genetic disorder?

Answer 26

An abnormal condition inherited from parents, often resulting from mutations.

Question 27

Give an example of a genetic disorder caused by a single gene mutation.

Answer 27

Cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, or sickle cell disease.

Question 28

What is Down syndrome?

Answer 28

A genetic disorder caused by having an extra copy of chromosome 21.

Question 29

True or False: Mutations are inherently bad.

Answer 29

False. Mutations can change the survivability of an organism.

Question 30

What is the role of amino acids in protein synthesis?

Answer 30

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, with each codon in mRNA corresponding to one amino acid.