Name: ______________________________
DNA Self-Assessment
Score: _____/12
1. – 4. Draw and label a piece of DNA. Include all parts of the nucleotide and all
nitrogen bases, paired correctly.
5. – 7. There are 2 steps to DNA replication. Name the enzymes (3 of them) involved
in each step and what they do.
8. Here is a strand of DNA. What is the complementary strand?
ATGGCTAACTGGCT
9. -10. Compare DNA replication in prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
11. What does it mean that DNA replication is semi-conservative?
12. What happens if mistakes are made in DNA replication? How can they be fixed,
and what if they’re not?
Answer Key_
Score: _12_/12
DNA Self-Assessment
Name: _
1. – 4. Draw and label a piece of DNA. Include all parts of the nucleotide and all
nitrogen bases, paired correctly.
1 pt. each: deoxyribose sugar, phosphate, adenine
paired with thymine, guanine paired with cytosine
5. – 7. There are 2 steps to DNA replication. Name the enzymes (3 of them) involved
in each step and what they do.
1 pt. each:
Helicase breaks hydrogen bonds between
nitrogen bases (“unzips” DNA)
DNA Polymerase matches nucleotides (A&T,
G&C) to form new DNA.
DNA Ligase puts Okazaki fragments together on
lagging strand.
8. Here is a strand of DNA. What is the complementary strand?
ATGGCTAACTGGCT
TACCGATTGACCGA
9. -10. Compare DNA replication in prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
In Bacteria (prokaryotes), DNA is circular and
there are only two replication forks. Replication
starts at one point and goes both ways around the
DNA.
For Eukaryotes, DNA is in long strands and
there are multiple replication sites on each
chromosome
11. What does it mean that DNA replication is semi-conservative?
Each new strand of DNA is made of one old
strand (parent strand) that has been conserved,
and one new (daughter) strand that has been
synthesized (made).
12. What happens if mistakes are made in DNA replication? How can they be fixed,
and what if they’re not?
Mistakes are usually caught by DNA
Polymerase and fixed.
If they are not, they are called mutations, and
can lead to diseases, like cancer. They are
also a natural part of evolution, so they’re
not always bad.