Dna Model G9
Dna Model G9
Imagine DNA as a twisted ladder. The outside of the ladder is made up of alternating
sugar and phosphate molecules. The sugar is called deoxyribose. The rungs of the ladder
are made of a pair of molecules called bases. There are four bases in DNA: adenine,
guanine, cytosine, and thymine. Because of the chemical structures of the bases, adenine
only pairs with thymine and cytosine only pairs with guanine to form a rung.
Procedure:
1. From the paper provided by your teacher, cut out the pattern for the chemical
bases sugars, and phosphates assigned to you.
2. Arrange the cut outs on your lab table to form the pattern described in the
introduction. BE SURE YOU LAY ALL PIECES OUT BEFORE GLUING
THEM TOGETHER! As a guide, you can attach the chemical base to the sugar
molecule by matching up the dots. You can attach the phosphate group onto your
model by matching up the stars, and you can attach the top of the phosphates to
the sugars by matching up the squares.
4. Now put your lab group initials on your model. With the instructor’s help, paste
your model to another lab group model.
5. When finished, your class should have constructed a long DNA molecule. The
instructor can then twist it carefully into a helix and hang it in the classroom!
Name:
Analysis Questions:
Connections:
1. What are the three components of a nucleotide? (HINT: What were the three
components used in putting the model together? Remember that Adenine, Guanine,
Cytosine, and Thymine are all Nitrogen Bases!) Look in your book if you are still
unsure.
3. Suppose you know that the sequence of bases on one DNA strand (one side of the
DNA ladder) is AGCTCAG. What is the sequence of the bases on the opposite strand?
4. Assume that a 100-bair pair DNA double helix contains 45 cytosines. How
many adenines are there?
Conclusion:
Write a summary of the structure of DNA that (at least) includes the terms: base, sugar,
phosphate, nucleotide, (base) pair, and helix.