GENES AND PROTEIN SYNTHESIS
INTRODUCTION TO SCIENCE
SPRING 1999
At the end of this section you should be able to address the following:
  1. What is the connection between a gene and a chromosome?
  2. How does a gene determine inherited traits in an organism?
  3. What is the connection between the nucleotide sequence of a gene and the order of amino acids in a protein?
  4. Suppose you analyzed a sample of DNA from an unknown virus and found that it was composed as follows:  20% A, 28% T, 12% G, and 40% T.  What would you conclude about the number of nucleotide strands that make up this DNA?
  5. When DNA replication occurs and a single, double stranded molecule replicates to form two "progeny" double stranded molecules, would you expect to see that one of these molecules consisted of two "old" or original nucleotide stands and the other molecule consisted of the two newly made nucleotide strands?  Explain your answer.
  6. What would happen to a protein if, due to a mutation, a stop codon appeared in a mRNA after the fifth codon of a mRNA that is 105 codons in length?
  7. If you crossed two gray cats and they had two gray kittens and five black kittens, could you conclude that black was dominant?
  8. Explain the processes of transcription and translation.  Where in a cell does each occur?
  9. What is the function of mRNA?  tRNA?
To test your understanding of DNA replication and protein synthesis, go to http://pbs.org/wgbh/aso/tryit/dna/#

[Adapted from Trefil, J. and R. M. Hazen.  1995.  Instructor's Manual: The Sciences, and Integrated Approach.  John Wiley & Sons, Inc.]