Key Area 1.2: Essay Questions

Question 1

Give an account of the replication of a molecule of DNA.

Answer 1

• DNA uncoils and unzips
• primers bind at each end of theses template strand
• DNA polymerase adds complementary DNA nucleotides to lead strand continuously
• primers bind to lagging strand in many places
• DNA polymerase adds complementary DNA nucleotides to lagging strand in fragments
• fragments are joined by ligase
• replication occurs at several positions on a DNA molecule at the same time
• replication requires energy/ATP