Download Name:

Name:
DNA
Biology
RNA
1.24.17
.
Protein
Go to Mr. Mason’s site, and then to the link for “Genetics – Protein Synthesis”
and click “launch” in the middle of the screen.
1. Start on the overview. Based on slides 5 and 6, why does the information
encoded on the DNA need to be copied onto an mRNA strand in order to
make proteins? (In other words, why can’t DNA do this work directly?)
2. The rest of the Overview section will be covered again later. Click on
Transcription at the top of the pop-up window. What is the goal of
transcription?
3. What are the purposes of the three following gene regions?
a. Promoter
b. Coding region
c. Termination sequence
4. After RNA Polymerase binds to the promoter, what happens to the DNA
strand?
5. The text in the tutorial doesn’t state this directly, but from watching the
animation on slide 10, what base is present in mRNA that is not part of
the DNA molecule? (Remember verse 3 of our song?)
6. Click on Translation at the top. What is the goal of translation? (Slide 4)
7. What is a codon?
8. Where on an mRNA strand does translation actually begin? Give the term
that describes this location along with the correct base sequence.
9. What molecule brings amino acids to the site of protein synthesis?
10. Read from here through slide 16. How does the cell know which amino
acid to deliver to the growing chain when it reads each codon?
11. According to the site, how large are the amino acid chains usually? (Note:
These are what fold into proteins and many are much, much larger than
this)
Go back to Mr. Mason’s website and follow the link for “Genetics –
Transcription/Translation example”
12. What are the names of the gene and the enzyme responsible for the
glowing in a firefly’s tail?
13. After finding the correct gene, what does RNA Polymerase actually do?
14. After transcription, what happens to the mRNA strand? (Where in the cell
does it go, and what organelle does it seek out?)
15. In this example, what occurs during translation?
16. What must be done to this string of amino acids in order to turn it into a
functional protein?
17. The rest of this process isn’t really about transcription or translation, but
rather about enzymatic activity and is thus beyond the scope of our
studies at this point. I will add, though, that it would be sweet to have a
glowing butt. Agreed? 
Get it? Good. Let’s take a test!  OK…maybe you’re as confused as I would
be at this point. Let’s try this again with a different site that explains it a little
differently.
Go to the link for “Genetics – Gene transcription/translation”
18. In the space above the DNA strand, use your keyboard to type in the
correct bases. Remember what matches with G? Which base goes with T?
(Remember, you’re making RNA here, not DNA) This is transcription.
(Nothing to write here – you just need to do it to get to the next step.)
19. When you understand what to do during translation, give it a shot. What
is the RNA sequence and corresponding amino acid that starts translation
every time?
20. What is the stop codon (RNA sequence) that ended the process of
translation? What are the other possible stop codons?
Explain transcription:
Explain translation:
Transcribe the following DNA strand into mRNA, and then translate the RNA into
an amino acid sequence. Remember to start with the "start" codon. (Refer back
to #19 if you don’t remember which one is the start codon.)
DNA Strand
C
C
T
A
C
G
G
G
C
T
A
C
C
T
T
T
A
C
G
C
A
A
T
C
A
G
A
C
T
mRNA
Amino Acid Chain