5.3 Study Guide

Question 1

What are the similarities between RNA and DNA?

Answer 1

• They’re made up of the sugar, phosphate and nitrogenous base.
• They have the sugar phosphate backbone.
• They contain 5’ to 3’ ends.
• Intramolecular base pairing.

Question 2

Please offer a short summary of the transcription process.

Answer 2

Transcription copies a gene’s DNA sequence to make an RNA molecule. The process is performed by RNA polymerases.

Question 2

What are the differences between RNA and DNA

Answer 2

• RNA is single-stranded while DNA is double-stranded.
• DNA has deoxyribose while RNA has ribose.
• RNA has the U:A pairing while DNA has the T:A pairing.
• RNA is relatively short while DNA is really long.
• DNA has 1 structure function while RNA folds, so they have multiple functions, shapes, RNA, and structures.

Question 3

What is the transcribed DNA strand?

Answer 3

The template strand.

Question 4

What is the untranscribed DNA strand?

Answer 4

The coding strand/non-template strand.

Question 5

Why can’t DNA come out of the nucleus?

Answer 5

That’s where DNA resides, and where transcription and translation occur.

Question 6

Please complete the RNA strand.

Answer 6

DNA: RNA:
T A
G C
C G
A U
C G
A U

Question 7

Given that there are more possible combinations for amino acids than for amino acids themselves, what does this imply about the number of codes for each amino acid?

Answer 7

Each amino acid can have many different codes.

Question 8

Please give a definition for the template strand.

Answer 8

The transcribed DNA strand.

Question 9

Please give a definition for the coding strand/non-template strand.

Answer 9

The untranscribed DNA strand.

Question 10

What is the main enzyme for transcription?

Answer 10

RNA polymerase.