Question 1

Which experiment provided evidence that DNA, and not protein, is the genetic material in cells?

Accepted Answer

Hershey and Chase's experiment using radioactive sulfur and phosphorus to label proteins and DNA, respectively

Question 2

Which of the following is a distinguishing feature of a deoxyribose sugar in DNA compared to ribose in RNA?

Accepted Answer

Deoxyribose lacks an OH group at the 2' carbon

Question 3

Which base is found only in RNA and not in DNA?

Accepted Answer

Uracil

Question 4

Which statement about double-stranded DNA is correct?

Accepted Answer

Adenine and thymine are present in equal amounts

Question 5

During DNA replication, which enzyme is responsible for joining Okazaki fragments on the lagging strand?

Accepted Answer

DNA ligase

Question 6

If a strand of DNA is 5' GTACCG 3', what is the sequence of the complementary strand?

Accepted Answer

$$5' CGGTAC 3'$$

Question 7

Why does DNA strand growth only occur in the 5' to 3' direction?

Accepted Answer

Because DNA polymerase can only add nucleotides to the 3' end of the growing DNA molecule

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT directly involved in converting genotype to phenotype?

Accepted Answer

Replication

Question 9

When messenger RNA (mRNA) is being transcribed, the RNA base ______ always pairs with adenine in DNA.

Accepted Answer

U

Question 10

A newly discovered organism has three different nucleotides and encodes 60 different amino acids. What is the minimum number of bases per codon required to encode all amino acids?

Accepted Answer

$$\lceil \log_3$ 60 \rceil = 4$$

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT true about the genetic code?

Accepted Answer

The genetic code is ambiguous

Question 12

During transcription of a gene, which strand of DNA is used as the template?

Accepted Answer

The strand that runs in the 3' to 5' direction

Question 13

Using the genetic code, what protein sequence does the mRNA sequence 5' CGUUUACAGGGUCUUA 3' code for?

Accepted Answer

Arg – Leu – Thr – Gly – Leu

Question 14

In eukaryotic cells, which statement about mRNA processing is correct?

Accepted Answer

Introns are cut out and exons are spliced together

Question 15

Which statement regarding the flow of genetic information is true?

Accepted Answer

Transcription is the process of making mRNA from DNA

Question 16

An anticodon on tRNA is complementary to a codon triplet on mRNA. If the mRNA codon is 5' GUA 3', what is the anticodon sequence?

Accepted Answer

$$3' CAU 5'$$

Question 17

Which statement about ribosomes is NOT true?

Accepted Answer

The structure of prokaryotic and eukaryotic ribosomes are exactly the same

Question 18

Which event occurs first during translation in eukaryotic cells?

Accepted Answer

A start codon is recognized by the ribosome

Question 19

Which type of mutation results in the replacement of one amino acid with another in a protein sequence?

Accepted Answer

Missense mutation

Question 20

The phage reproductive cycle that kills the bacterial host cell is known as the ______ cycle.

Accepted Answer

Lytic

Molecular Biology of the Gene: DNA Structure, Replication, Transcription, and Translation

Study Guide - Practice Questions

Study Guide - Flashcards