Problem Set

Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

______ 1. Friedrich Miescher is credited with

a. proposing DNA as the hereditary material.
b. finding a cure dor pneumonia.
c. telling us that A=T and G=C
d. discovering nucleic acids.

______ 2. Fred Griffith’s experiments

a. produced a vaccine against bacteial pneumonia.
b. demontsrated that rough (R) bacteria cause pneumonia.
c. provided evidence that genetic material from one bacterial culture could be transferred to another
culture.
d. showed that rough bacteria injected into mice will be chnaged by the mice to smooth (S) bacteria.
e. converted harmless smooth bacteria into lethal rough bacteria.

______ 3. The significance of Fred Griffith’s experiment in which he used two strains of Steptococcus penumoniae is
that
a. the semiconservative nature of DNA replication was finally demonstrated.
b. it demonstrated that harmless cells had become permanently transformed through a change in the
bacterial hereditary system.
c. it established that pure DNA extracted form disease-causing bacteria transformed harmless strains
into killer strains.
d. it demonstrated that radioactively labeled bacteriophages transfer their DNA but not their protein
coats to their host bacteria.
e. all of these.

______ 4. The significance of the experiments in which 32P and 35S were used is that
a. the semiconservative nature of DNA replication was finally demonstrated.
b. it demonstrated that harmless cells had become permanently transformed through a change in the
bacterial hereditary system.
c. it established that pure DNA extracted form disease-causing bacteria transformed harmless strains
into killer strains.
d. it demonstrated that radioactively labeled bacteriophages transfer their DNA but not their protein
coats to their host bacteria.
e. none of these.

______ 5. If a mixture of viruses labeled with radioactive sulfur and phosphorus is placed in a bacterial culture,
a. the bacteria will absorb radioactive sulfur.
b. the bacteria will absorb radioactive phosphorus.
c. the bacteria will absorb both radioactive sulfur and phosphorus.
d. the bacteria will not absorb either sulfur and phosphorus.
e. the viruses will not attach to the bacteria.

______ 6. The experiments of which of the following researchers clearly distinguished DNA as the hereditary material
(as opposed to protein)?
a. Pauling
b. Hershey and Chase
c. Griffith
 d. Watson and Crick
e. Avery

_____ 7. A nucleotide may contain

a. a purine
b. a pentose
c. a phosphate group
d. a pyrimidine
e. all of these

_____ 8. Which scientist(s) discovered the basis for the base-pair rule, which states that the amounts of adenine and
thymine match, as do the amounts of cytosine and guanine?
a. Avery
b. Griffith
c. Chargaff
d. Hershey and Chase
e. Pauling

_____ 9. From x-ray diffraction data, which of the following was determined about DNA?
a. The molecule had uniform diameter.
b. The molecule was long and narrow.
c. Part of the molecule repeated itself often.
d. The shape of the molecule could be spiral.
e. All of these.

_____ 10. Rosalind Franklin used which technique to determine many of the physical characteristics of DNA?
a. Transformation
b. Transmission electron microscopy
c. Density gradient centrifugation
d. X-ray diffraction
e. All of these

_____ 11. James Watson and Francis Crick

a. Established the double-stranded nature of DNA.
b. Confirmed the principle of base pairing.
c. Explained how DNA’s structure permitted it to be replicated.
d. Proposed the concept of the double helix.
e. All of these.

_____ 12. In the nitrogenous bonding of nitrogenous bases,

a. Adenine is paired with cytosine.
b. Adenine is paired with guanine.
c. Cytosine is paired with thymine.
d. Guanine is paired with cytosine.

_____ 13. In the bonding of two nucleotides,

a. Hydrogen bonds are used
b. Adenine and thymine bind together.
c. Double ring nitrogenous bases connect to single-ring bases.
d. All of these.
_____ 14. The DNA molecule could be compared to a
a. hair pin.
b. ladder.
c. key.
d. globular mass.
e. flat plate.

_____ 15. Adenine and guanine are

a. double-ringed purines
b. single- ringed purines
c. double-ringed pyrimidines
d. single-ringed pyrimidines
_____ 16. If a purine bonded to a purine in DNA, the molecule would _______ in that region.
a. be constricted
b. be perfectly normal
c. lose a sugar-phosphate unit
d. unwind
e. bulge

_____ 17. In DNA molecules,

a. the nucleotides are arranged in a linear, unbranched pattern.
b. the nitrogenous bases are found on the outside of the molecule.
c. the sugar-phosphate pattern runs the same way on each DNA strand.
d. all of these
e. none of these

_____ 18. Which of the following statements is true?

a. The hydrogen bonding of cytosine to guanine is an example of complementary base pairing.
b. Adenine always pairs up with guanine in DNA, and cytosine always teams up with thymine.
c. Each of the four nucleotides in a DNA molecule has the same nitrogen-containing base.
d. When adenine base pairs with thymine, they are linked by three hydrogen bonds.
e. In the DNA of all species, the amount of purines never equals the amount of pyrimidines.

_____ 19. Each DNA strand has a backbone that consists of alternating
a. purines and pyrimidines.
b. nitrogen containing bases.
c. hydrogen bonds.
d. sugar and phosphate molecules.
e. amines and purines.

_____ 20. The appropriate adjective to describe DNA replication is

a. nondisruptive.
b. semiconservative.
c. progressive.
d. natural.
e. lytic.

_____ 21. DNA strands serve as which of the following during DNA synthesis?
a. replicate
b. substitute
c. template
d. source of nucleotides
e. all of these
_____ 22. After three replications of a single DNA molecule, what percent of the resulting double helices contain one
strand of the “original”DNA?
a. 0 percent
b. 25 percent
c. 50 percent
d. 75 percent
e. 100 percent

_____ 23. The primary function of DNA ligase is to

a. cut the two strands of the dna molecule prior to replication.
b. attach free nucleotides to the growing chain.
c. remove bases that might have been inserted incorrectly.
d. seal new short stretches of nucleotides into one continuous strand.
e. fragment old dna that is no longer of use to the cell.

_____ 24. Four of the five answers listed below are bases used to construct nucleic acids. Select the exception.
a. cytosine
b. adenine
c. thymine
d. guanine
e. phenylalanine

_____ 25. Four of the five answers listed below are people who helped develop the double helix explanation of the
DNA. Select the exception.
a. Wilkins
b. Griffith
c. Watson
d. Franklin
e. Crick

_____ 26. A linear stretch of DNA that specifies the sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide is called a(n)
a. codon
b. intron
c. messenger
d. gene
e. enzyme

_____ 27. The “central dogma” of molecular biology

a. explains the structural complexity of genes.
b. describes the flow of information.
c. is based upon the role of proteins in controlling life.
d. does not explain how genes function.
e. explains evolution in terms of molecular biology.

_____ 28. All the different kinds of RNA are transcribed in the
a. mitochondria
b. cytoplasm
c. ribosomes
d. nucleus
e. endoplasmic reticulum
_____ 29. The form of RNA that carries the code from the DNA to the site where the protein is assembled is called
a. messenger RNA
b. nuclear RNA
 c. ribosomal RNA
d. transfer RNA
e. structural RNA

_____ 30. DNA and RNA are alike in

a. the pentose sugar
b. all the nitrogenous bases used to assemble the genetic code.
c. the number of strands.
d. their function in genetics.
e. none of these.

_____ 31. Which substance is found in RNA but not in DNA?

a. thymine
b. deoxyribose
c. uracil
d. guanine
e. cytosine

_____ 32. The relationship between strands of RNA and DNA is

a. antagonistic
b. opposite
c. complementary
d. an exact duplicate
e. unrelated

_____ 33. Transcription

a. involves both strands of dna as templates.
b. uses the enzyme dna polymerase.
c. results in a double stranded end product.
d. produces three different types of rna molecule.
e. all of these.

____ 34. In transcription,

a. several RNA molecules are made from the same DNA molecule.
b. promoters are needed so that RNA can bind to DNA.
c. DNA produces messenger RNA.
d. a specific ezyme called rna polymerase is required.
e. all of these.

_____ 35. The portion of DNA molecule that is not translated and is a noncoding portion of DNA is composed of
a. introns.
b. anticodons.
c. exons.
d. transcriptions.
e. exons and transcriptions.