Genetics Study Guide

Who discovered the structure of DNA?

• James Watson and Francis Crick
• Marie Curie
• Charles Darwin
• Albert Einstein

What shape are Eukaryotic chromosomes?

• Circular
• Spiral
• Elliptical
• Linear

What holds one strand of DNA to the other strand?

• Covalent bonds between sugar and phosphate groups.
• Ionic bonds between DNA strands.
• Van der Waals forces between the DNA backbone.
• Hydrogen bonds between complementary nitrogenous bases.

The following RNA strand was produced:

5' AAA AUG AGU AAG 3'

Which of the following DNA strands could have been the template for this RNA?

• 3' TTT TAC TCA TTT 5'
• 3' TTT TAC TCA TTC 5'
• 3' GGG CUC UGA CCG 5'
• 3' AAA UAC AGU AAG 5'

What stage of Transcription does the RNA polymerase adds complementary nucleotides to the 3' end of the RNA strand?

• Elongation
• Processing
• Termination
• Initiation

What are the three parts of a nucleotide?

• Water, carbon dioxide, glucose
• Phosphate group, five-carbon sugar, nitrogenous base
• Carbohydrate, protein, lipid
• Amino acid, fatty acid, glycerol

What is the smallest unit of nucleic acids?

• Carbohydrate
• Protein
• Amino acid
• Nucleotide

Which of these nucleic acids contain Nitrogenous bases?

• DNA and RNA
• DNA, only

• RNA, only

• None of these

DNA is the instructions for the cell. If it is in the nucleus, how do the instructions get into the cytoplasm and to the organelles?

• mRNA carries the instructions from DNA in the nucleus to the cytoplasm and ribosomes.
• The instructions for the cell do not have to get into the cytoplasm. 

• Messenger RNA (mRNA) is a copy of the instructions contained in DNA and it can move from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. 

• DNA directly enters the cytoplasm from the nucleus.

Below are two sequences of a segment of DNA.

Normal sequence TAA GCG CAT

Mutated sequence TAG CGC AT

Which type of mutation has occurred?

• Substitution mutation
• Insertion mutation
• Translocation mutation
• Deletion mutation