The health of dairy cows and humans
The structure of DNA (video)
What are some reasons agriculture relies upon an understanding of DNA? Select all reasons
discussed in the introductory video. Select all correct answers.
a) To develop improved varieties of rice
b) To breed hornless Holstein cows
c) To prevent birth defects in Red Angus bulls
d) To breed Holsteins that can reproduce asexually
e) To better understand the ways in which viruses and bacteria can infect both
cattle and humans
[True or False?] Although the DNA of different organisms look similar, they are made of
different types of molecules.
[True or False?] Much of the information inherent in DNA is found in the sequence in
which the phosphate and Deoxribose molecules appear.
[True or False?] The information inherent in DNA is found in the sequence in which the
nucleotides appear.
Which of the following are nucleotides found in DNA?
a) Guanine
b) Lytosine
c) Thymine
d) Adenine
e) All of the above
[True or False?] The Thymine nucleotide is always matched with the Adenine nucleotide in
DNA.
[True or False?] The Guanine nucleotide is always matched with the Lytosine nucleotide in
DNA.
[True or False?] The DNA of an organism can be represented by a long sequence of three
to five nucleotides.
[True or False?] Once you know the sequence of nucleotides on one side of a DNA, you
can infer the sequence of nucleotides on the other side.
Suppose you have a sequence of the following nucleotides on a portion of the DNA:
Guanine, Guanine, Adenine, Guanine, Adenine. How is this sequence represented by
scientists?
a) GGAGA
b) UUDUD
c) 2GAGA
d) 2UDUD
e) 3G – 2A
Using the colors matched with each nucleotide in the video, what would be the sequence of
letters describing the DNA strand below?
a) GTCAC
b) GLCAC
c) TLACA
d) TGACA
e) None of the above
Using the colors matched with each nucleotide in the video, what would be the sequence of
letters describing the opposite side of DNA strand below?
a) CTG
b) TCG
c) LTG
d) CLG
e) None of the above
How many letters comprise (one side) of the S. aureus DNA?
a) 115,000 (approximately)
b) 1,220,000 (approximately)
c) 1,933,000 (approximately)
d) 2,900,000 (approximately)
e) 3,000,000,000 (approximately)
If you printed a hard copy of the S. aureus DNA using 12-point font, on paper 2.5 feet wide,
what would be the length of the paper?
a) 10 yards
b) 25 yards
c) 45 yards
d) 45,000 yards
e) 250,000 yards
How many letters comprise (one side) of human DNA?
a) 500,000 (approximately)
b) 1,050,000 (approximately)
c) 2,000,000 (approximately)
d) 3,000,000,000 (approximately)
e) 5,000,500,000 (approximately)
[True or False] The enormous diversity of life on earth is not due to the size of organisms’
DNA, but the large number of different nucleotides the DNA is made of.
[True or False?] To determine if the same S. aureus that infected humans also infected cattle,
scientists had to determine if the entire genome of some of the bacteria found in humans
and cow milk were identical.
What is the sequence of letters below?
a) A sequence of DNA unique in the genome of S. aureus
b) A sequence of DNA unique in both S. aureus and humans
c) The portion of the S. aureus DNA that determines whether it will thrive in cow milk
d) A sequence of DNA from the human genome after it has been infected by S. aureus
e) This cannot be the DNA of an organism