All Biochemistry Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Nucleic Acid Structures
Which of these is a purine?
Thymine
Uracil
Ribulose
Cytosine
Adenine
Adenine
Adenine and guanine are purines (contain two rings). Thymine, cytosine, and uracil are pyrimidines (contain one ring). In normal base pairing, a purine matches to a pyrimidine. Adenine matches to thymine in DNA (uracil in RNA), and cytosine matches to guanine. Ribulose is a carbohydrate.
Example Question #1 : Nucleic Acid Structures
Which of the following nitrogenous bases is a purine?
Uracil
Adenine
Thymine
Cytosine
Adenine
In DNA and RNA, there are two types of nitrogenous bases: pyrimidines and purines. A pyrimidine contains one carbon-nitrogen ring with two nitrogen atoms. A purine consists of a pyrimidine fused with an imidazole ring. Adenine and guanine are purines. Cytosine, thymine, and uracil are pyrimidines.
Example Question #1 : Nitrogenous Bases
Which of the following statements is true regarding the condition known as gout?
Gout is caused by excessive production of uric acid.
Gout is caused by a deficiency in the enzyme xanthine oxidase.
Fluorouracil is an effective treatment for gout.
Gout is caused by the excessive breakdown of pyrimidine bases.
Gout is caused by excessive production of uric acid.
When purines are broken down, they go through the intermediates hypoxanthine and xanthine, then are converted to uric acid. Xanthine oxidase is the enzyme that converts xanthine to uric acid. Treatments for gout are suicide inhibitors of xanthine oxidase, lowering the production of uric acid and building up the intermediates. This is preferable, because unlike uric acid, the intermediates are highly soluble.
Example Question #1 : Dna And Rna
Which molecule contains an anticodon region?
DNA
rRNA
tRNA
mRNA
htRNA
tRNA
tRNA carries the anticodon. tRNA is a transfer ribonucleic acid; it is a type of RNA molecule that decodes the mRNA sequence to form a protein. The anticodon is the part of the tRNA structure that complements the mRNA codon, dictating the identity of the amino acid carried by the tRNA and required to build the proper polypeptide chain.
Example Question #12 : Nucleic Acid Structures And Functions
Which of the following statements about RNA is false?
A hydroxyl group on the 2’ of riboses makes RNA phosphodiester bonds fragile
mRNA has a half-life shorter than the cell division cycle
Hairpin turn structures are composed of two RNA molecules in a parallel configuration
RNA forms intramolecular double helices
None of the other answers is false
Hairpin turn structures are composed of two RNA molecules in a parallel configuration
The presence of an group on the 2’ carbon if ribose does indeed make any phosphodiester bonds at this site subject to hydrolysis. RNA can sometimes form double-helices, such as in tRNA. mRNA is constantly being degraded in the cytoplasm, and so it has a very short half-life relative to the life of the cell. RNA’s hairpin turn structures are composed of only one molecule which has doubled back on itself, rather than two separate molecules.
Example Question #1 : Dna And Rna
Which of the following statements about B DNA are incorrect?
All of these are correct
B DNA is right handed with 10 base pairs per turn
B DNA is the most commonly found double helical structure
B DNA has a diameter of
B DNA has a wide and deep major groove and a narrow and shallow minor groove
B DNA has a wide and deep major groove and a narrow and shallow minor groove
B DNA has a wide and deep major groove and a narrow and deep minor groove. All other statements regarding B DNA are true.
Example Question #2 : Dna And Rna
1. chromosome
2. solenoid
3. nucleosome
4. radial loop
5. base pair
6. nucleotide
Place the above structures in order from smallest to largest.
The correct order is base pair, nucleotide, nucleosome ("bead on a string"), solenoid, radial loop, chromosome. A solenoid is created by the packing of DNA with multiple nucleosomes, and a radial loop is compacted even further in chromatin.
Example Question #2 : Dna And Rna
Two strands of DNA were isolated from a solution, named DNA-1 and DNA-2. DNA-2 was found to have a higher melting point (temperature at which the two strands break apart). What can we conclude about the two strands' nucleotide composition?
DNA-2 has a higher guanine and cytosine concentration
DNA-2 has a higher adenine and thymine concentration
DNA-1 has a higher adenine and thymine concentration
DNA-1 has a higher guanine and cytosine concentration
DNA-2 has a higher guanine and cytosine concentration
Recall that guanine and cytosine form three hydrogen bonds to one another in DNA, while adenine and thymine only form two hydrogen bonds to one another. This means that DNA strands with higher concentrations of guanine and cytosine will be more stable, and thus require greater energy to break apart. In this case, since DNA-2 required more energy (higher temperature) to denature, it has a higher concentration of guanine and cytosine.
Example Question #3 : Dna And Rna
Transcription is initiated when RNA polymerase binds to the DNA at the __________. (In humans, this is known as the TATA box).
start codon
initiator
operator
poly-A tail
promoter region
promoter region
The promoter region is a short segment of DNA that is recognized and bound to by RNA polymerase prior to transcription. The promoter region is usually upstream of the operator and will not be transcribed into mRNA.
Example Question #4 : Dna And Rna
Which of the following statements concerning DNA packing is incorrect?
A nucleosome is a histone with DNA coiled around it, allowing for extremely efficient DNA packing
More than one of these are incorrect
Nucleosomes appear as "beads on a string" when viewed under a microscope
Histones are rich in the amino acids Asp and Glu, giving them a net negative charge
Joining two units of H2A, H2B, H3, and H4 all together forms a histone octamer
Histones are rich in the amino acids Asp and Glu, giving them a net negative charge
Histones are rich in the amino acids Asp Lys and Glu Arg, giving an overall net negative positive charge. (Because DNA is negatively charged, this allows for tighter binding between the histones and coiled DNA).