Name _____________________________________ Period ____
The twisting tale of DNA
http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-twisting-tale-of-dna-judith-hauck
1. Every cell of every living thing on earth contains all the information it needs to create and duplicate
and make variations of:
a. itself
b. any other kind of cell
c. red blood cells
d. proteins
2. DNA, although a very simple molecule, can be quite confusing. Attempt to explain the parts of DNA
and how they fit together. What do you think is most confusing about the construction of DNA?
3. DNA is made of chains of four smaller molecules called:
a. nucleotides
b. mitochondrial bases
c. life blocks
d. DNAblers
4. The secret of life. The double helix. The building block of life. Deoxyribonucleic acid. These are all
names for what is most commonly known as DNA. If you had to rename the molecule, what would you
call it and why? Explain why DNA has so many names.
5. The four differing nucleotide parts, called bases, are made of a few:
a. Carbon and oxygen atoms
b. hydrogen atoms
c. Nitrogen and phosphorus atoms
d. All of the above
6. The double helix structure, DNA, wasn't discovered until 1953. Can you name any other discoveries
made in the last 100 years that have had an impact on our knowledge about life as much as the discovery
of DNA? What are some notable scientists that have made major discoveries in the fields of life science?
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7.
You can think of DNA as a great library of information that exists to do one thing only.
What is that thing?
a. Build other double helix models of information
b. Tell the brain how to construct the body
c. Store data about what worked and what didn't
d. Direct the building of different protein molecules
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8.
It's infrequent, but our own nucleotide sequences can change as the result of
spontaneous or environmental damage (which might remove or shift a nucleotide position). What does
this change?
a. It changes nothing because of the almost infinite combinations of sequences.
b. It changes the gene involved, and can then change the protein.
c. It changes organisms into fundamentally different organisms.
d. We are not certain what happens. It's never been documented.