inheritance

Question 1

What is a genome?

Answer 1

It is the entire DNA of an organism.

Question 2

What is a gene?

Answer 2

It is a section of a molecule of DNA that codes for a specific protein.

Question 3

Where are genes located?

Answer 3

They are located on chromosomes which the nucleus of a cell contains.

Question 4

Describe a DNA molecule.

Answer 4

It is two strands coiled to form a double helix. The strands are linked by a series of paired bases.

• adenine with thymine
• cytosine with guanine.

Question 5

How does RNA differ from DNA?

Answer 5

RNA is only single stranded.

RNA contains Uracil instead of Thymine.

Question 6

Describe the stages of transcription.

Answer 6

First, the two strands of DNA unzip and the RNA polymerase moves along one strand of DNA.

Once made the mRNA molecule moves out of the nucleus.

RNA polymerase binds to a region of non-coding DNA in front of a gene.

The mRNA molecule attaches to a ribosome in the cytoplasm.

RNA polymerase uses the DNA in the gene as a template to make a strand of mRNA.

The DNA is zipped up again.