Name: ____________________________________________

DNA PRACTICE—WORKSHEET #1

Complete the statement using one of the following terms:

Deoxyribose Adenine Nucleus

Phosphate Thymine Genetic code
Nitrogenous base Guanine Watson and Crick
Replication Cytosine Nucleotides
Mutation Hydrogen bonds Covalent bonds
Genes Helix

1. The fundamental unit of structure in the DNA molecule is the ________________________.

2. The sugar found in DNA is called ___________________________________.

3. In DNA, cytosine bonds to ___________________________.

4. A nucleotide consists of a sugar, a nitrogenous base, and a (n) _____________________________.

5. Nitrogenous bases are held together in DNA by weak _______________________________________.

6. The production of exact copies of DNA is known as DNA ____________________________________.

7. In DNA, adenine bonds to _________________________________.

8. The DNA molecule is described as a double-stranded ________________________.

9. A mistake in the replication of a DNA molecule results in a(n) _______________________________.

10. The scientists who discovered the structure of DNA were named
__________________________________________________________.

11. The sugar-phosphate backbone of DNA is held together using

_________________________________________.

12. The monomers of DNA are ____________________________________.

Name: ____________________________________________

DNA PRACTICE—WORKSHEET #2

Answer the following questions based on the section of the DNA molecule you see below:
 ____________________________1. Identify part A.

____________________________2. Identify part B.

____________________________3. What do parts, C, D, and E represent?

____________________________4. What holds C to D and E to F?

____________________________5. Give the name for the structure containing parts A, B, and
E.

____________________________6. If C represents adenine, what is structure D?

____________________________7. If E represents guanine, what is structure F?

____________________________8. Which letters contain the genetic code?

____________________________9. How many strands does DNA have?

____________________________10. What term describes the way these strands wrap around
each other?

Name: ____________________________________________

DNA PRACTICE—WORKSHEET #3

Show the base pairing that results in new strands of DNA:

 A _____ _____ T
T _____ _____ A
C _____ _____ G
G _____ _____ C
A _____ _____ T
T _____ _____ A
G _____ _____ C
C _____ _____ G
T _____ _____ A
C _____ _____ G

1. What bonds had to have been broken first for new bases to be added?
______________________________________________

2. How do the new strands compare to each other?

____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

3. How do the new strands compare to the original strand from which they came?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

4. Where does this process take place in eukaryotic cells? ______________________________

Name: ____________________________________________

RNA PRACTICE—WORKSHEET #4

Complete the statement using one of the following terms:

Ribose Adenine Nucleus

Phosphate Uracil Cytoplasm
Nitrogenous base Guanine Transfer RNA
Transcription Cytosine Nucleotides
Ribosomal RNA Messenger RNA
Thymine Translation

1. The sugar found in RNA is called ___________________________________.

2. In RNA, guanine bonds to ___________________________.

3. This nitrogenous base is not found in RNA _________________________________.

4. This type of RNA brings amino acids to the ribosome during translation
______________________________________________.

5. Transcription takes place in the _______________________________.

6. In RNA, adenine bonds to _________________________________.

7. This type of RNA makes up the ribosome and is the site of protein synthesis
_____________________________________________________________.

8. This process is also known as protein synthesis _____________________________________.

9. The monomers of RNA are ____________________________________.

10. Protein synthesis takes place in the ______________________________________.

11. This type of RNA carries the instructions for making proteins
________________________________________________.

Name: ____________________________________________

RNA PRACTICE—WORKSHEET #5

Protein synthesis is a complex process made up of the 2 processes transcription and translation. In this activity you will trace the
steps that are involved in protein synthesis.
A. Transcription
Protein synthesis begins with DNA in the nucleus. Transcription takes place in the nucleus of the cell. During transcription
messenger RNA (mRNA) reads and copies DNA's nucleotide sequence in the form of a complimentary RNA strand. Then
the mRNA carries the DNA's information in the form of codons to the ribosome. Codons are a 3 nucleotide sequence in an
mRNA strand. At the ribosome, amino acids will be assembled to form a polypeptide, which will become a protein.

Below is a DNA sequence. Write the sequence of mRNA codons that would result from the transcription of the DNA sequence.
 B. Translation
Translation takes place on the ribosome. For translation, another type of RNA called transfer RNA (tRNA) is needed. tRNA
is a molecule made up of 3 nucleotides called anticodons. Anticodons are complimentary to the codons of mRNA. Attached
to the tRNA anticodons are amino acids. During translation a tRNA anticodon will bind to a specific mRNA codon and bring
with it the specific amino acid coded for. As tRNA bring amino acids, the amino acids bond together forming polypeptide
chains, which will form proteins.

Rewrite your mRNA sequence from part A. Using the amino acid chart, determine the sequence of amino acids based on your
mRNA strand. Use hyphens (dashes) to separate amino acids.

Label the following diagram of Protein Synthesis.

5
Answer the following questions about Protein Synthesis.

List all of the molecules in the process transcription.

Transcription takes place on the ____________________________________.

List all of the molecules in the process translation.

Translation takes place in the ___________________________________.

Why do cells need protein synthesis to occur?