Name______________________________________
Biochemistry Final Exam Review:
DNA/Nucleic Acids
1. What are the three parts of a nucleotide? Describe them and provide a basic drawing of a
nucleotide.
2. How are nucleotides assembled?
3. What are the 5 major nitrogenous bases?
4. List the nitrogenous bases that are purines. ____________________________________
5. List the nitrogenous bases that are pyrimidines. ____________________________________
6. What are the two different types of pentose in nucleic acids and where are they found?
7. What are the two different types of nucleic acids?
8. List 3 defining characteristics of DNA.
9. List 3 defining characteristics of RNA.
10. Where would one find uracil? __________________
11. Where would one NOT find thymine?_____________________
12. Give two examples that illustrate the “Chargaff Rule.”
13. According to the base-pair rules, which bases will form hydrogen bonds with each other. (use
full name)?
Name______________________________________
14. Describe the structure of DNA and how it is like a ladder. What makes up the sides? What
makes up the rungs?
15. How is DNA considered to be semi-conservative?
16. How is DNA anti-parallel?
17. What exactly does DNA do? What is its main purpose?
18. _______________________ is the name of the process that makes an exact, semi-conservative
copy of DNA.
19. _______________________ is the name of the process that makes proteins; there are 2 steps in
this process ( write fin order) __________________________ & ________________________.
20. The sequence of _________________ determines the protein that will be made.
21. The sequence of _________________ makes up the genetic code.
22. What is the molecule that is assembled in the nucleus and then leaves through a nuclear pore to
carry the code for making particular proteins? ___________________
23. Referring to the question above, what is the process called when this molecule is made?
__________________
24. Describe the role of mRNA. Start by providing its full name.
25. Describe the purpose and result of DNA replication.
26. What must happen before a cell can divide, and why?
27. Where does DNA replication happen in a prokaryote (bacterial cell)? __________________
28. Where does DNA replication happen in an eukaryote? ______________________
29. What two scientists are credited with establishing the structure of DNA?
Name______________________________________
30. What is the replication fork?
31. What is helicase and what does it do?
32. What is DNA polymerase and what does it do (2 main jobs)?
33. How is the leading strand replicated differently than the lagging strand?
34. What is DNA ligase?
35. What are Okazaki fragments and on which strand are they formed?
36. What kind of bond holds nitrogenous bases together?
37. Where in the cell is DNA copied by mRNA and what is this process it called?
38. What types of RNA are involved in protein synthesis?
39. To be more specific, what types of RNA are involved in transcription? _____________________
40. To be more specific, what types of RNA are involved in translation? _______________________
41. When mRNA exits the nucleus and goes into the cytoplasm, what must it attach to in order to
start the translation process? __________________
42. What is mRNA? Describe its function and structure.
43. What is rRNA? Describe its function and structure, including its subunits and the tRNA binding
sites.
44. What is tRNA? Describe its function and structure.
45. What is the purpose of tRNA’s anticodons?
Name______________________________________
46. On which organelle of a cell does translation take place? ______________________
47. What is the first step of protein synthesis? _________________________
48. What is the second step of protein synthesis? ______________________
49. What is a codon?
50. Why are there at least 20 different types of tRNA molecules?
51. When protein synthesis is happening, what is the process called that attached one amino acid to
the next during elongation?
52. How does the ribosome know when to finish, or stop, making the protein?
53. What is the START codon? __________
54. What are the 3 different STOP codons? _________________________
55. Given below is 1 side of a strand of DNA
A C C G G G T T A T A T A T G C G C G C A
Original DNA
__________________________________________________ provide the complimentary strand of DNA
__________________________________________________ Transcribe the original DNA strand
__________________________________________________ Provide the anti-codon
___________________________________________________Translate the mRNA into amino acids
56. When a cell makes an error in copying it’s own DNA, it is called a/an_____________________.
57. Categorize the different types of mutations, providing the different types in each category.
Name______________________________________
58. A mutation that affects 1 nucleotide is called a _________________ and it occurs on a (gene
/chromosome) circle one.
59. What are two possible outcomes when nondisjunction occurs?
60. What exactly is nondisjunction?
61. What is a karyotype and why might it be necessary for a person to get a karyotype?
62. YOU WILL NEED TO KNOW about the different genetic disorders caused by chromosomal
mutations provided in the slides (down syndrome, Turner Syndrome, Cri du Chat etc…there
were 7 described)
a. Know them by name, symptoms, and which type of mutation causes them.
63. What is trisomy?
64. What is monosomy?
65. What are two ways in which a frameshift mutation can happen?
66. List two types of genetic changes that can lead to more dramatic effects, such as coding for the
wrong protein, or genetic mutations.
67. You will need to be able to analyze a mutation of bases and determine the type of mutation that
occurred.
a. Normal:
ACT TTT GGG CCC AGG TAT TTG CGC
b. Mutation:
ACT TTT GAG CCC AGG TAT TTG CGC
c. Type ______________________________
Name______________________________________
68.
a. Normal:
ACT TTT GGG CCC AGG TAT TTG CGC
b. Mutation:
ACT TTT GGC CCA GGT ATT TGC GC
c. Type ______________________________
69.
a. Normal:
ACT TTT GGG CCC AGG TAT TTG CGC
b. Mutation:
ACT TTT GAG GCC CAG GTA TTT GCG C
c.
C
d. Type ______________________________
70.
Type of Mutation ___________________
71.
Type of mutation _____________________
Name______________________________________
72.
73.
Type of mutation _____________
Type of Mutation ___________________
74. Be able to identify each type of RNA when shown a picture.
F
G
A_____________________
B_____________________
C_____________________
H
D_____________________
E_____________________
I
F_____________________
G_____________________
H_____________________
I_____________________