Match each of the following characteristics with a specific type of RNA:

a. mRNA                          b. tRNA                                   c. rRNA

1. the most abundant type of RNA in a cell.

2. the RNA that has the shortest chain of nucleotides

3. the RNA that carries information from DNA to the ribosomes for protein synthesis

4. the RNA that is the major component of ribosomes.

5. the RNA that carries specific amino acids to the ribosomes for protein synthesis.

6. the RNA that consists of a large and a small subunit.

Fill in the blanks with a word or phrase that answers each of the following questions

1. What is the sequence of the three bases in mRNA that specifies an amino acid called? ___________

2. What is the start codon and what amino acid does it code for? ___________________________

3. Where does protein synthesis take place within the cell? ___________________________

Match each of the following descriptions with a step in the translation process:

a. initiation                b. activation               c. anticodon         d. translocation          e. termination

1. ___ the three bases in each tRNA that complements a codon on the mRNA.

2. ___ the combining of the amino acid with a specific tRNA

3. ___ the placement of methionine on the large ribosomal subunit

4. ___ the shift of the ribosome from one codon on mRNA to the next

5. ___ the process that occurs when the ribosome reaches a UAA, UGA or UAG codon on mRNA.

Write the mRNA that forms for each of the following section of DNA. For each codon in the mRNA, write the amino acid that would be placed in the protein by a tRNA.

DNA:            3'-ATA            GCC               TTT                GGC               AAC-5'

mRNA:         __________    __________   __________   __________   __________

Amino acid: __________    __________   __________   __________   __________

Consider the following segment of a DNA template strand: 3'-AAT CCC GGG - 5'

1. Write the mRNA produced.

2. Write the amino acid order for the mRNA codons.

3. A mutation replaces the thymine in the DNA template strand with guanine. Write the mRNA produced.

4. Write the new amino acid order.

5. Why is this mutation called a substitution?

6. How is this mutation different from a frame shift mutation?

7. What are the possible causes of genetic mutations?

Match the following terms with the correct statement:

a. polymerase chain reaction                   b. recombinant DNA            c. Human Genome Project

d. virus                                                     e. retrovirus

1. ___ a small, disease-causing particle that contains either DNA or RNA as its genetic material.

2. ___ a process that makes multiple copies of DNA in a short amount of time.

3. ___ research that determined the DNA sequence of all the genes in a human cell

4. ___ a synthetic form of DNA that contains a piece of foreign DNA.

5. ___ a type of virus that must use reverse transcriptase to make a viral DNA.