DNA Replication Practice Test
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
____
1. Which bacteria killed the mice in Griffith’s transformation experiment?
a. live, harmless bacteria and heat-killed, harmful bacteria
b. live, harmless bacteria and heat-killed, harmless bacteria
c. live harmful bacteria and heat-killed, harmless bacteria
d. live harmless bacteria, and live, harmful bacteria
____
2. What happened when Griffith injected mice with the harmless, R-strain bacteria alone?
a. The bacteria transformed.
b. The mouse lived.
c. The mouse died.
d. The bacteria died.
____
3. Griffith’s experiments advanced the study of genetics by proving that
a. there is a chemical that contains genetic information that can be passed from one organism
to another.
b. bacteria can make people sick by infecting them with a chemical that contains genetic
information.
c. the bacteria that can make mice sick are the same bacteria that can be grown in culture
dishes in a laboratory.
d. genetic information can be passed from parents to their offspring during sexual
reproduction.
____
4. Why did Hershey and Chase label the viral DNA with radioactive phosphorous and not radioactive sulfur?
a. DNA contains phosphorus and no sulfur.
b. Proteins contain phosphorus and no sulfur.
c. DNA contains sulfur and little phosphorous.
d. Proteins acids contain sulfur and little phosphorous.
Figure 12–2
____
5. Figure 12–2 shows the structure of
a. a DNA molecule.
b. an amino acid.
c. a RNA molecule.
d. a protein.
____
6. Because of base pairing in DNA, the percentage of
a. adenine molecules in DNA is about equal to the percentage of guanine molecules.
b. thymine molecules in DNA is about equal to the percentage of adenine molecules
c. adenine molecules in DNA is much greater than the percentage of thymine molecules.
d. cytosine molecules in DNA is much greater than the percentage of guanine molecules.
____
7. Which of the following best describes Rosalind Franklin’s contribution to our understanding of the structure
of DNA?
a. She created many models of DNA based on what was known about its properties, and
eventually figured out that the structure of DNA is a double helix.
b. She purified large amounts of DNA, stretched the fibers so the strands were parallel, and
used an X-ray beam to produce an image of the molecule.
c. She isolated DNA from many different organisms, and discovered that in every sample,
the amount of guanine was almost exactly equal to the amount of cytosine.
d. She used radioactive phosphorus and sulfur to produce radioactive viruses, then allowed
these viruses to infect bacteria. She found that DNA was the transforming material.
____
8. Which scientist(s) figured out that the shape of a DNA molecule is a double helix?
a. Hershey and Chase
b. Griffith
c. Watson and Crick
d. Franklin
____
9. In the Hershey-Chase experiment, what happened to the bacteria that had been infected by viruses that had
radioactive DNA, and to the bacteria that had been infected with viruses that had been marked with
radioactive proteins?
a. The bacteria infected with viruses that had radioactive DNA had become radioactive. The
bacteria that had been infected with viruses marked with radioactive proteins were not
radioactive.
b. The bacteria infected with viruses that had radioactive proteins had become radioactive.
The bacteria that had been infected with viruses marked with radioactive DNA were not
radioactive.
c. The bacteria infected with viruses that had radioactive DNA had become radioactive. The
bacteria that had been infected with viruses marked with radioactive proteins had also
became radioactive.
d. The bacteria infected with viruses that had radioactive DNA had not become radioactive.
The bacteria that had been infected with viruses marked with radioactive proteins had also
not become radioactive.
____ 10. Which scientist made x-ray diffraction photos of DNA?
a. Franklin
b. Chargaff
c. Watson
d. Avery
Figure 12–4
____ 11. The table in Figure 12–4 shows the percentages of bases in a DNA sample. How much Thymine should you
expect to find in the sample?
a. 22%
b. 24%
c. 28%
d. 44%
____ 12. Watson and Crick discovered the two strands in DNA
a. run in perpendicular directions.
b. run in the same direction.
c. run in opposite directions.
d. run in random directions.
____ 13. DNA replication results in two DNA molecules,
a. each with two new strands.
b. one with two new strands and the other with two original strands.
c. each with one new strand and one original strand.
d. each with two original strands.
____ 14. During DNA replication, a DNA strand that has the bases CTAGGT produces a strand with the bases
a. TCGAAC.
b. GATCCA.
c. AGCTTG.
d. GAUCCA.
____ 15. All of the following are true about the structure of DNA except
a. short strands of DNA are contained in chromosomes inside the nucleus of a cell.
b. every DNA nucleotide contains a sugar, a phosphate group, and a base.
c. DNA consists of two strands of nucleotides joined by hydrogen bonds.
d. the long strands of nucleotides are twisted into a double helix.
____ 16. A nucleotide consists of
a. a sugar, a protein, and adenine.
b. a sugar, an amino acid, and starch.
c. a sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base.
d. a starch, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base.
____ 17. Purines and pyrimidines are
a. bases found in amino acids.
b. molecules that can replace phosphate groups from defective DNA.
c. names of specific types of DNA molecules.
d. bases found in nucleotides.
____ 18. The addition of nucleotides to form a complementary strand of DNA
a. is catalyzed by DNA polymerase.
b. is accomplished only in the presence of tRNA.
c. prevents separation of complementary strands of RNA.
d. is the responsibility of the complementary DNA mutagens.
____ 19. Which of the following is not true about DNA replication?
a. It must occur before a cell can divide.
b. Two complementary strands are duplicated.
c. The double strand unwinds while it is being duplicated.
d. The process is catalyzed by enzymes called DNA mutagens.
____ 20. Oswald Avery showed that
a. cells missing protein and RNA were able to transform R cells into S cells and kill mice,
but cells missing DNA could not.
b. cells missing DNA were able to transform R cells into S cells and kill mice, but cells
missing protein and RNA could not.
c. cells missing DNA, protein, and RNA were able to transform R cells into S cells and kill
mice.
d. cells missing DNA, protein, and RNA were not able to transform R cells into S cells and
kill mice.
Completion
Complete each statement.
1. _________________________ are weak bonds that hold the two strands of DNA together, but also allow the
DNA to separate and replicate.
2. The enzyme that is responsible for breaking the hydrogen bonds between the two strands of DNA is
_________________________.
3. Griffith’s experiment showed that live bacteria without capsules acquired the ability to make capsules from
dead bacteria with capsules in a process Griffith called ____________________.
4. The ability of a microorganism to cause disease is referred to as its ____________________
DNA Replication Practice Test
Answer Section
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. ANS: A
PTS: 1
DIF: L2
REF: p. 338 | p. 339
OBJ: 12.1.1 Summarize the process of bacterial transformation.
TOP: Foundation Edition
BLM: comprehension
2. ANS: B
PTS: 1
DIF: L1
REF: p. 338 | p. 339
OBJ: 12.1.1 Summarize the process of bacterial transformation.
TOP: Foundation Edition
BLM: knowledge
3. ANS: A
PTS: 1
DIF: L2
REF: p. 338 | p. 339
OBJ: 12.1.1 Summarize the process of bacterial transformation.
TOP: Foundation Edition
BLM: comprehension
4. ANS: A
PTS: 1
DIF: L3
REF: p. 341
OBJ: 12.1.2 Describe the role of bacteriophages in identifying genetic material.
BLM: evaluation
5. ANS: A
PTS: 1
DIF: L1
REF: p. 344 | p. 345
OBJ: 12.2.1 Identify the chemical components of DNA.
TOP: Foundation Edition
BLM: knowledge
6. ANS: B
PTS: 1
DIF: L2
REF: p. 345
OBJ: 12.2.1 Identify the chemical components of DNA.
TOP: Foundation Edition
BLM: analysis
7. ANS: B
PTS: 1
DIF: L2
REF: p. 346
OBJ: 12.2.2 Discuss the experiments leading to the identification of DNA as the molecule that carries the
genetic code.
STA: 5.1.12.C.3 | 5.1.12.C.1 | 5.1.12.D.1 BLM: knowledge
8. ANS: C
PTS: 1
DIF: L2
REF: p. 346
OBJ: 12.2.2 Discuss the experiments leading to the identification of DNA as the molecule that carries the
genetic code.
STA: 5.1.12.C.3 | 5.1.12.C.1 | 5.1.12.D.1 TOP: Foundation Edition
BLM: comprehension
9. ANS: A
PTS: 1
DIF: L3
REF: p. 341
OBJ: 12.1.2 Describe the role of bacteriophages in identifying genetic material.
BLM: analysis
10. ANS: A
PTS: 1
DIF: L1
REF: p. 346
OBJ: 12.2.2 Discuss the experiments leading to the identification of DNA as the molecule that carries the
genetic code.
STA: 5.1.12.C.3 | 5.1.12.C.1 | 5.1.12.D.1 TOP: Foundation Edition
BLM: knowledge
11. ANS: A
PTS: 1
DIF: L2
REF: p. 345
OBJ: 12.2.2 Discuss the experiments leading to the identification of DNA as the molecule that carries the
genetic code.
STA: 5.1.12.C.3 | 5.1.12.C.1 | 5.1.12.D.1 TOP: Foundation Edition
BLM: application
12. ANS: C
PTS: 1
DIF: L1
REF: p. 347
OBJ: 12.2.3 Describe the steps leading to the development of the double-helix model of DNA.
STA: 5.1.12.C.3 | 5.1.12.C.1 | 5.1.12.D.1 TOP: Foundation Edition
BLM: comprehension
13. ANS: C
PTS: 1
DIF: L2
REF: p. 338 | p. 339
OBJ: 12.3.1 Summarize the events of DNA replication.
BLM: application
14. ANS: B
PTS: 1
DIF: L1
REF: p. 338 | p. 339
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
OBJ:
BLM:
ANS:
STA:
ANS:
STA:
ANS:
STA:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
STA:
12.3.1 Summarize the events of DNA replication.
application
A
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
5.5.A.1
C
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
5.5.A.1
D
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
5.5.A.1
A
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
D
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
A
PTS: 1
DIF: 2
5.2.B.1
TOP: Foundation Edition
OBJ: 10-2.2
OBJ: 10-2.2
OBJ: 10-2.2
OBJ: 10-3.2
OBJ: 10-3.1
OBJ: 10-1.2
COMPLETION
1. ANS: Hydrogen bonds
PTS:
OBJ:
STA:
BLM:
2. ANS:
1
DIF: L2
REF: p. 348
12.2.3 Describe the steps leading to the development of the double-helix model of DNA.
5.1.12.C.3 | 5.1.12.C.1 | 5.1.12.D.1 TOP: Foundation Edition
knowledge
DNA helicase
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
3. ANS: transformation
OBJ: 10-3.2
PTS: 1
4. ANS: virulence
DIF: I
OBJ: 9.1.1
DIF: I
OBJ: 9.1.1
PTS: 1