Name: ______________________

Activity 2

Think Pair Share

Below is an opportunity for you to apply what you’ve learned about transcription,
and translation in the process of protein synthesis. You will be decoding a DNA
sequence into amino acids for a protein.

1. Fill in the table below by first transcribing the DNA sequence (column 1) to
mRNA (column 2). Remember to use complementary bases as shown in the
examples.

2. Using the Codon Wheel or Codon Chart below the table, identify the
respective amino acid from the mRNA codon (column 2).

DNA mRNA Amino Acid

T A
A U
C G
T A Lysine
T A
T A
A
T STOP CODON, NO AMINO ACID
C
G C
G C
T A
T
A
A
G
C ARGININE
C
C G
A U
T A

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Instructions for Using the Codon Wheel Chart

The Codon Wheel below on the left contains four large letters at the center. These
represent the four nitrogenous bases of mRNA. A codon consists of three bases in
sequence.

The first base is either the large letter G, C, A, or U on the chart. For instance in
the codon UAA, the first base is the U. Find the U in the center of the codon
wheel. Now trace your finger from that U at the center of the wheel to the second
base in the codon UAA, the A that touches the large U. Now, trace your finger to
the third base of the codon UAA, to the A which touches the preceding A. You
should see the word “Stop” on the wheel next to the last A of the codon UAA.

The table on the right is also a Codon Table. Use the one that works best for you.
2`1

https://history.nih.gov/exhibits/nirenberg/popup_htm/06_chart3.htm (public domain)

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Codons_aminoacids_table.png (CC BY-SA 3.0)

© Copyright 2015 All rights reserved. www.cpalms.org