Topic 1: DNA: The code of life

Question 1

Nucleic acid

Answer 1

An organic compound that contains the elements C, H, O, N and P. A polynucleotide such as DNA and RNA

Question 2

Eukaryotic cell

Answer 2

A cell that has a membrane-bound nucleus and organelles

Question 3

Gene

Answer 3

A specific part of a strand of DNA that codes for a particular characteristic

Question 4

Chromatin network

Answer 4

The form in which chromosomes are found in the nucleus of an eukaryotic cell that is not dividing. The chromatin network consists of a mass of long, tangled threads of DNA

Question 5

Extranuclear DNA

Answer 5

DNA that is found outside the nucleus

Question 6

Complementary bases

Answer 6

Nucleotide bases that are able to be joined by hydrogen bonds and therefore hold the double-stranded nucleic acid together

Question 7

Double helix

Answer 7

The structure that is formed when two strands are twisted around a central axis

Question 8

Non-coding DNA

Answer 8

DNA that does not code for the production of proteins

Question 9

DNA sequencing

Answer 9

The process that is used to work out the base sequence of a segment of DNA

Question 10

Evidence

Answer 10

Information that is used to test whether something might be true

Question 11

DNA profiling

Answer 11

Te procedure used to identify individual organisms based on the unique sequence of nucleotides in each person’s DNA

Question 12

Forensic

Answer 12

Used in a court of law and/or with regard to solving a crime

Question 13

Mitosis

Answer 13

Cell division that occurs in a cell to produce two identical cells

Question 14

DNA replication

Answer 14

The process during which DNA makes identical copies of itself under the control of enzyme DNA polymerase

Question 15

Cell cycle

Answer 15

The series of events that occur in a cell from the time it is produced to the time it has divided into new identical cells

Question 16

Enzyme

Answer 16

A protein that speeds up chemical reactions inside or outside a cell.

Question 17

Template

Answer 17

Any molecule that acts as a pattern for the making of a new molecule

Question 18

Semi-conservative replication

Answer 18

Each new DNA molecule formed contains one polynucleotide strand from the original molecule and one newly made polynucleotide strand

Question 19

Transcription

Answer 19

The production, in the nucleus, of mRNA using a gene as a template

Question 20

Translation

Answer 20

The process during which the genetic information encoded in mRNA is translated into the sequence of amino acids in a protein

Question 21

RNA polymerase

Answer 21

The enzyme that is responsible for making mRNA from a DNA template

Question 22

non-coding DNA

Answer 22

DNA that does not contain a code for making proteins

Question 23

Codon

Answer 23

A triplet of bases on apiece of mRNA that codes for a particular amino acid

Question 24

Anticodon

Answer 24

A triplet of bases on a tRNA that is capable of base pairing with a triplet of complementary nucleotides on an mRNA

Question 25

Peptide bond

Answer 25

A bond that joins two amino acids

Question 26

Polyribosome

Answer 26

A group of ribosomes associated with a single mRNA during the translation stage of protein synthesis