Name: ______________________________
Year 12 Biology
Assignment Six
Due: Friday 21st March
Topic: DNA Manipulation
Part A: Biological knowledge (20 marks)
1. What does PCR stand for? (1 mark)
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2. Name the three processes involved in PCR in the boxes provided. (3 marks)
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2. Taq polymerase is an enzyme from a bacterium known as Thermus aquaticus. Why is this
enzyme used as the DNA polymerase in PCR rather than using DNA polymerase isolated
from humans? (1 mark)
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3. The diagram provided shows the key components required for PCR. Outline the role of
each of these components. (5 marks)
Key Component
Role in PCR
DNA Template
DNA Primers
dNTPSs
DNA Polymerase
Buffer Solution
4. Outline how the process of gel electrophoresis is used to separate fragments of DNA. (3
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marks)
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5. Before gel electrophoresis, both PCR and endonuclease digestion are commonly
required. Explain the importance of these techniques in successfully running and
interpreting a gel. (2 marks)
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6. Clearly draw and label a gel electrophoresis set up. (3 marks)
7. Why is it important to ensure that the electrical field is run in a specific direction? What
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would happen if it was run the other way? (1 mark)
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8. What is the purpose of running an allele ladder as part of a gel? ( 1 mark)
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Part B: General Science Skills (12 marks)
9. Grace and Ashley calculate the areas of the ZOIs in Petri dishes in which antibiotics
have been used. List these in order from smallest to largest. (1mark)
0.0214 cm2 0.03 cm2 0.0218 cm2 0.034 cm2
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10. Maddy and Emma measure the heights of a number of different plants growing around
the Biol Lab. List these in order from smallest to largest. (1 mark)
22.003 cm 22.25 cm 12.901 cm 12.03 cm 22 cm
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11. State the volume of liquid in each of the following measuring cylinders. (8 marks)
12. Ella and Charlotte needed to measure 2.5mL of solution. Which measuring cylinder
should they use? Justify your choice. (2 marks)
Part C: Enrichment & Extension (8 marks)
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Watch How AI Cracked the Protein Folding Code and Won a Nobel Prize (22 mins) and
complete the following questions
13. What is the "protein folding problem," and why is it significant in biology and
medicine? (2marks)
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14. How did AI, specifically DeepMind’s AlphaFold, contribute to solving the protein folding
problem? (2 marks)
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15. Before AI, what were some traditional methods used to determine protein structures,
and what were their limitations? (2 marks)
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16. Why was the breakthrough in protein folding considered worthy of a Nobel Prize? Give
at least two examples of how this discovery can be applied in real-world science or
medicine. (2 marks)
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Part D: Data Analysis. (10 marks)
Calculating Percentage Change
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17. Convert the following mass changes to percentage changes in the table below (5
marks)
18. Plot a scatter graph of % change in mass (y axes) and sucrose concentration (x axes). (3
marks)
Draw a line of best fit (1 mark) and describe the correlation (1 mark)
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