Name ______________________________
ESL Biology
Protein Synthesis Worksheet
Use the animation at LearnersTV.com to answer the following questions.
1. Protein synthesis is the making of _________________ using the information that is foun
in DNA.
2. Where is the DNA (Chromosomes) found?
3. Name two reasons why proteins are important:
a.
b.
4. What are proteins made of?
5. Genes are pieces of information in found in DNA. They describe how to make proteins
by putting the __________________ amino acids into a long chain in the
______________ order.
6. To start protein synthesis, the DNA of this gene will “unzip”. What do you think “unzip”
means?
7. How many sides of the DNA are going to be used?
8. A single-strand of RNA forms, one subunit at a time, and transcribes (copies) the genetic
information from the DNA.
a. Use dictionary.com or another website to define these terms:
i. strand: (not the one that says to leave behind)
ii. subunit:
b. Now, write down a prediction of what will happen next. (What do you think will
happen to the DNA and RNA?
c. Click the forward arrow when you finish your prediction. Was your prediction
right?
9. You have just created a strand of RNA. How is it different from the DNA?
10. After the strand of RNA leaves the DNA, what does the DNA do?
11. This RNA is called messenger RNA. What does it carry?
12. Where the RNA go after it leaves the nucleus?
13. Why was the RNA formed in the nucleus?
14. Will the DNA ever leave the nucleus?
15. Explain in your own words what just happened.
16. How many subunits code for a particular amino acid?
17. The information of the mRNA describes which _____________ _____________ should
be in the ______________ _______________.
18. A molecule of tRNA will carry in the ________________ ________________
___________.
19. The tRNA matches up to mRNA. How do the bases come together?
20. The first three subunits of tRNA has a green base, a red base and a purple base. It brings
a brown amino acid with it. What color bases do you see in the next three subunits?
Should the yellow, red and green bases also have a brown amino acid?
Why not?
21. What happened to the tRNA after it drops off its amino acid?
22. What do we call a chain of amino acids?
23. What do we call a long chain of amino acids?
24. How many amino acids are in most proteins?
25. The shape that the chain forms is very important because
26. If a different sequence of amino acids is used, the protein chain would have a different
shape and therefore