High School Biology : DNA

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for High School Biology

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Example Questions

Example Question #61 : Dna

What role do hydrogen bonds play in the structure of DNA?

Possible Answers:

Are an integral part of the sugar-phosphate backbone 

Bonds the hydrogen atoms to the nitrogenous bases

Creates a bond between the deoxyribose and phosphate group

Holds each of the base pairs together

Bonds the nitrogenous base to the phosphate group

Correct answer:

Holds each of the base pairs together

Explanation:

Each base pair (adenine - thymine and cytosine - guanine) are held together with hydrogen bonds. These bases form the 'ladder steps' part of a DNA molecule. Hydrogen bonds are much weaker than the covalent bonds that hold all the other parts of the molecule together, so when DNA needs to be replicated, its easy for an enzyme to 'unzip' the DNA molecule and expose those bases for replication.

Example Question #62 : Dna

Which of the base pairs below form the strongest bond?

Possible Answers:

Adenine - thymine

Guanine - cytosine

Thymine - guanine

Cytosine - thymine

Adenine - guanine

Correct answer:

Guanine - cytosine

Explanation:

Guanine - cytosine and adenine - thymine form "complimentary base pairs." Guanine can only form hydrogen bonds with cytosine and adenine can only form hydrogen bonds with thymine (and vice versa). With that in mind, any base pairing other than those two can be excluded from this answer. Furthermore, cytosine and guanine form a total of three hydrogen bonds together while adenine and thymine only form two. The extra bond between guanine and cytosine makes the pairing about 50% stronger.

Example Question #61 : Dna

Which of the following is true about purines?

Possible Answers:

Are generally smaller then pyrimidines

Pair well with other purines in DNA

Thymine and cytosine are purines

Contains a double ringed structure which is larger than pyrimidines

Forms the backbones structure of DNA

Correct answer:

Contains a double ringed structure which is larger than pyrimidines

Explanation:

Purines are one of the two families of nitrogenous bases, the other being pyrimidines. Purines consist of a double ring structure, while pyrimidines contain only a single ring making them smaller than purines. Adenine and guanine are purines, while their complimentary base pairs (thymine and cytosine) are pyrimidines. If two purines were to pair together, there would be an unstable bulge in the DNA due to a purine-purine pair being slightly larger than purine-pyrimidine complimentary base pairs. If two pyrimidines were to create a pair, there would be a slight pinch in the DNA for the same reasons. The backbone of DNA consists of deoxyribose and phosphate, not the nitrogenous bases. 

Example Question #11 : Understanding Nucleotides

Select the proper components of a nucleotide in DNA.

Possible Answers:

A nitrogenous base and a hexose sugar 

A nitrogenous base, a pentose sugar, and a phosphate 

A nitrogenous base, a pentose sugar, and a protein 

A nitrogenous base, a protein, and a phosphate

A nitrogenous base, a hexose sugar, and a phosphate

Correct answer:

A nitrogenous base, a pentose sugar, and a phosphate 

Explanation:

For DNA: A nucleotide contains a nitrogenous base (adenine, thymine, cytosine, or guanine), a pentose (five-carbon) sugar (in this case, deoxyribose), and a phosphate group. A nucleoside is simply a nitrogenous base and a sugar. You could also say that a nucleotide is a nucleoside with an attached phosphate group. 

Example Question #61 : Dna

Consider a DNA molecule in which 23% of the molecule is adenine. Given that information, what is the expected amount of guanine? 

Possible Answers:

46%

There is not enough information given to determine. 

27% 

23%

54%

Correct answer:

27% 

Explanation:

We will assume this is the "perfect" DNA molecule and there are no anomalies or mutations.

That being said, we know that the amount of adenine (A) is equal to the amount of thymine (T), and the amount of guanine (G) is equal to the amount of cytosine (C) due to the complementarity of DNA; A=T and C=G. We are dealing with percentages, so the total amount of each 4 nucleotides will equal 100.

The amount for adenine is given; A = 23%. Because A=T, the amount of thymine must be 23% as well. Add these two values together to get the total amount of A and T : 23 + 23= 46. 

Again, since we are dealing with percents, we subtract the total amount of A and T from 100: 100 - 46 = 54. Now we know the total amount of C and G is 54. Since the amount of C=G, we can divide 54 by 2 = 27.

The amount of Cytosine in the molecule is 27%, and the amount of Guanine is 27%.

Example Question #64 : Dna

Which of the following choices have only purines?

Possible Answers:

Cytosine and Guanine

Thymine and Cytosine

Adenine and Thymine

Guanine and Thymine

Adenine and Guanine

Correct answer:

Adenine and Guanine

Explanation:

Adenine and Guanine are purines, therefore that answer choice is correct. Thymine and Cytosine are pyrimidines, therefore any answer that involves those choices are incorrect.

Example Question #401 : High School Biology

Which of the following nucleotides is found in RNA but not DNA?

Possible Answers:

Cytosine

Adenine

Uracil

Guanine

Thymine

Correct answer:

Uracil

Explanation:

RNA and DNA both have the bases cytosine, guanine and adenine in common. In RNA, uracil is present in place of thymine which is found in DNA. 

Example Question #61 : Dna, Rna, And Proteins

Which of the following are correct base pair combinations for the DNA structure?

Possible Answers:

Cytosol paired with Guanine

Guanine paired with Thymine

Cytosine paired with Adenosine

Adenine paired with Uracil

Adenine paired with Thymine

Correct answer:

Adenine paired with Thymine

Explanation:

There are two types of nucleotides in DNA, pyrimidines and purines. The purines are Adenine and Guanine. Pyrimidines are Thymine and Cytosine. In RNA, Thymine is replaced with Uracil. Purines pair with pyrimidines in a specific order, therefore Adenine pairs with Thymine, and Cytosine pairs with Guanine. Adenine pairs with Uracil only in RNA, not DNA.

Example Question #61 : Dna

Which of the following is/are example(s) of nucleic acids?

Possible Answers:

Glucose

Cholesterol

Two of these answers are correct

rRNA

DNA

Correct answer:

Two of these answers are correct

Explanation:

Nucleic acids include DNA and all forms of RNA (mRNA, tRNA, rRNA, and htRNA). Note that the different types of RNA have the same base structure, but serve different functions. Messgener RNA (mRNA) is used as the template for protein translation. Transfer RNA (tRNA) transports amino acid residues to the ribosome during translation to aid in polypeptide elongation. Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) is used to form the structure of the ribosomal subunits. Heternuclear RNA (htRNA) is the original product of transcription, and is found in the nucleus prior to post-transcriptional modifications.

Glucose is a carbohydrate, and cholesterol is a lipid.

Example Question #41 : Dna Structure

The correct pairing of nucleotide bases in DNA are __________.

Possible Answers:

cytosine with guanine and adenine with uracil

cytosine with guanine and adenine with thymine

cytosine with adenine and guanine with thymine

cytosine with thymine and guanine with adenine

Correct answer:

cytosine with guanine and adenine with thymine

Explanation:

The nucleotides in DNA always pair the same way; A with T and G with C. This is due to the chemical structure of each base; adenine and thymine form two hydrogen bonds when pairing, and guanine and cytosine form three. The other important thing to remember is that there is a different nitrogen base in RNA called uracil; uracil is not found in DNA, so pay attention to which molecule the question is asking about.

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