MBB 10 2ND LONG EXAM REVIEWER

I. Multiple Choice. Choose the absolute best answer for each item. There may be
more or less than one answer for each item.
1. Which of the following statements is (are) true?
a. bacterial ribosomes consist of 40S and 60S subunits
b. prokaryotic DNA is normally complexed with histones
c. prokaryotic DNA normally exists as a closed circle
d. circular DNA is supercoiled
2. Why is RNA more vulnerable to alkaline hydrolysis than DNA?
a. the 2 OH in its ribose group can react with the phosphodiester bonds of
the
chain,
cleaving it
b. the lack of a complementary strand allows access for nucleases (enzymes
that cleave nucleic acids)
c. A and B
d. none of the above
For the next 7 numbers, refer to these 3 choices:
a. primary
quaternary

b. secondary

c. tertiary

d.

3. What is the level of structure exhibited by the major and minor grooves of DNA?
4. What is the level of structure exhibited by mRNA in its functional form?
5. What is the highest level of structure exhibited by tRNA in its functional form?
6. It is the level of structure described as the three-dimensional arrangement of all
atoms in a biomolecule.
7. It is the level of structure in proteins described as the order of amino acid
residues in the polypeptide chain.
8. It is the level of structure in proteins described as the interaction between
subunits in proteins that consist of more than one polypeptide chain.
9. It is the level of structure which pertains to the hydrogen-bonded arrangement of
the polypeptide backbone.
For the next 2 numbers, use the following choices. The antisense strand of a double
stranded DNA starting from the phosphate end reads ATTTGCAC.
a. 5 AUUUGCAC 3
d. 3 UAAACGUG 5

b. 5 GUGCAAAU 3
e. 3 ATTTGCAC 5

c. 5 UAAACGTG 3
f. 3 TAAACGTG 5

10. What is the sequence of the RNA strand?

11. What is the sequence of the sense strand?
Questions were edited & taken from Campbell and Farrell Biochemistry 7 th ed., www.biologycorner.com, and Prof.
Espanos MBB 10 slides.
V2 (10/12/2015) | Prepared by the UP Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Society | Page 1

12. A friend tells you that only four different kinds of bases are found in RNA. What
would you say in reply?
you would tell him to go back to high school because he is wrong
you would tell him that there are certain cases where more than 4 bases are
present
C. you would tell him that he is correct
D. you dont tell him anything because you have no friends
A.
B.

13. One way of determining the denaturation of DNA (you can think of this as the
double stranded DNA separating to its 2 complementary strands) is by observing a
hyperchromic shift. In laymans terms, this is the phenomenon where the denatured
single stranded DNA is absorbing much more light than when it was still double
stranded. You have 2 pure DNA samples with the same length but differing in the
base pairs. When you heated both samples to 70 degrees Celsius and checked the
amount of light absorbed by each sample, you find that sample A had a
hyperchromic shift while sample B did not. Assuming that you did not degrade the
DNA, what can be a reason for this phenomenon?
a.
b.
c.
d.

Sample
Sample
Sample
Sample

A
B
A
B

contains
contains
contains
contains

a
a
a
a

higher relative abundance of G-C pairs than Sample B

higher relative abundance of A-T pairs than Sample A
lower relative abundance of G-C pairs than Sample B
lower relative abundance of A-T pairs than Sample A

14. Which of the following is/are examples of protein denaturation?

a. the formation of the white mass of egg white when frying an egg
b. the disintegration of a chicken when submerged in very concentrated
hydrochloric acid
c. the digestion of food in the stomach
d. the whitening of tilapia meat from its red color after it is steamed
15. All of these are structures where proteins play a predominant role in except:
a.
b.
c.
d.

spider web
sodium potassium pump
ribosome
nucleus

For numbers 16-20, refer to the following choices:

a. hydrogen bond b. peptide bond
glycosidic bond

c. phosphodiester bond

d.

16. What is the bond connecting amino acids called?

17. What is the bond connecting DNA nucleotides called?
18. What bonds are present in double-stranded RNA?
19. What is the bond responsible for forming alpha helixes in the secondary
structure of proteins?
Questions were edited & taken from Campbell and Farrell Biochemistry 7 th ed., www.biologycorner.com, and Prof.
Espanos MBB 10 slides.
V2 (10/12/2015) | Prepared by the UP Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Society | Page 2

20. What is the bond responsible for forming beta sheets in the secondary structure
of proteins?
21. As you are aware, there are 2 forms of beta sheets, parallel and antiparallel.
Which of them is more stable?
a.
b.
c.
d.

antiparallel
parallel
both have the same stability
insufficient information

22. What are some of the possible bonds in a protein tertiary structure?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

hydrophobic interactions / Van der Waal interactions

hydrogen bond
covalent bond
a and b
all of the above

23. What are ways in which one cannot denature a protein?

a.
b.
c.
d.

boiling it at 100 C
placing it inside a freezer (-20 C)
exposing it to ultraviolet light
adding minute amounts of urea to it

24. Which of the following are purines?

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

adenine
cytosine
guanine
thymine
uracil

25. All of these are forces holding DNA together except

a.
b.
c.
d.

ionic bonds
covalent bonds
hydrogen bonds
hydrophobic interactions / Van der Waal interactions

26. What are ribosomes made of?

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

proteins and RNA

proteins only
proteins and DNA
RNA only
DNA only

Questions were edited & taken from Campbell and Farrell Biochemistry 7 th ed., www.biologycorner.com, and Prof.
Espanos MBB 10 slides.
V2 (10/12/2015) | Prepared by the UP Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Society | Page 3

27. Why is it necessary to unwind DNA before replication?

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

to avoid mutations in the resulting DNA

to allow entry of proteins in the replication fork
to allow topoisomerase to loosen the writhes of DNA
A and B
B and C

28. During replication, what enzyme adds complementary bases?

a.
b.
c.
d.

helicase
synthetase
replicase
polymerase

29. How many proteinogenic amino acids are there?

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

64
exactly 20
exactly 21
exactly 24
at least 23

30. In RNA, _____ codon(s) translate to ______ amino acid(s)

a.
b.
c.
d.

1,
3,
3,
1,

1
1
3
20

31. The sugar in RNA is _____, the sugar in DNA is _______

a.
b.
c.
d.

deoxyribose, ribose
ribose, deoxyribose
ribose, phosphate
ribose, uracil

32. Translation begins:

a.
b.
c.
d.

at the replication fork

on the lagging strand
at the start codon
in the nucleus

33. If a DNA molecule is found to be composed of 40% thymine, what percentage of

guanine would be expected.
a.
b.
c.
d.

10%
20%
40%
80%

34. DNA and RNA together are normally composed of how many kinds of
nucleotides?
Questions were edited & taken from Campbell and Farrell Biochemistry 7 th ed., www.biologycorner.com, and Prof.
Espanos MBB 10 slides.
V2 (10/12/2015) | Prepared by the UP Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Society | Page 4

a.
b.
c.
d.

7
3
4
5

35. Which of the following is NOT a necessary component of translation?

a.
b.
c.
d.

anticodon
mRNA
ligase
amino acid

36. Okazaki fragments occur on the ___ and are bonded together by ______
a.
b.
c.
d.

leading strand, polymerase

mRNA, anticodons
lagging strand, ligase
tRNA, polymerase

37. How many different codons are possible using G, C, A, and U bases?
a.
b.
c.
d.

22
24
64
an infinite number

38. What the meaning of the abbreviation DNA?

a.
b.
c.
d.

deoxynucleic acid
deoxyribonucleic acid
denatured ribonucleic acid
deoxoribonuclear acid

39. Which of the statements are true with regards to primers?

I. Just the lagging strand needs primers due to its Okazaki fragments
II. The leading strand needs a primer and is synthesized from the 3 to the 5
direction
III. The primer at the leading strand is synthesized by a DNA primase while
the lagging strand is by a RNA primase
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

I only
II only
III only
I and III
II and III

Questions were edited & taken from Campbell and Farrell Biochemistry 7 th ed., www.biologycorner.com, and Prof.
Espanos MBB 10 slides.
V2 (10/12/2015) | Prepared by the UP Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Society | Page 5

40. During what phase of the cell cycle does DNA replication happen?
a.
b.
c.
d.

G1
S
M
G2

41. All of these words describe a characteristic of DNA replication except:

a.
b.
c.
d.

high fidelity
bidirectional
continuous
semi-conservative

42. Three nucleotides code for:

a.
b.
c.
d.

1
3
1
3

amino acid
amino acids
protein
proteins

43. The processing of mRNA in eukaryotes requires, among others, 5 capping and
addition of a poly-A tail. What is the significance of this?
a.
b.
c.
d.

Protects the mRNA from degradation

Serves as a marker for mRNA maturation and export to the cytoplasm
Aids in tRNA binding
Increases the redundancy of genetic information

44. Where does mRNA splicing happen?

a.
b.
c.
d.

Inside the nucleus

In the cytoplasm
Along the nuclear pore complex
In the nucleolus

45. Name an important difference in the replication of circular DNA versus linear
double-stranded DNA.
a.
b.
c.
d.

Circular DNA needs fewer DNA polymerases due to its inherent circular nature
Linear DNA takes place slower and is more prone to errors in replication
Linear DNA needs more than one origin of replication
Only 2 replication forks are present in the replication of a circular DNA

46. All these statements are false except

a. All amino acids have more than one corresponding codon
b. More than 1 kind of tRNA can bind to a codon
c. The anticodon must be perfectly complementary with the codon for tRNA
binding
d. A tRNA carrying a protein which shall block the A-site is added upon reaching
a stop codon
e. All these statements are false
Questions were edited & taken from Campbell and Farrell Biochemistry 7 th ed., www.biologycorner.com, and Prof.
Espanos MBB 10 slides.
V2 (10/12/2015) | Prepared by the UP Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Society | Page 6

47. Which of these statements are true?

a.
b.
c.
d.

The synthesis of an mRNA strand begins with the sequences in the promoter
The entire mRNA strand is encoded into a polypeptide chain
All proteins contain methionine at the beginning of their sequence
Transcription and translation occurs separately in eukaryotes

II. Identification. Write the absolute best answer to each of the following
questions.
1. It is the enzyme that promotes unwinding and separation of the 2 strands of DNA.
2. The enzyme that joins Okazaki fragments together.
3. What is the direction of elongation?
4. What kind of nucleic acid is the primer in replication made of?
5. What is the specific enzyme that allows elongation of DNA in the leading strand?
6. It is the repetitive sequence of DNA found at the ends of chromosomes to protect
the genes from being eroded.

III. Essay. Answer the following questions in an essay format (no longer than 10
sentences).
1. Explain briefly what happens to eukaryotic mRNA before it can be translated
to protein.
2. Would you expect mRNA or rRNA to be degraded more quickly in the cell?
Why?
3. A mutation that changes an alanine residue in a protein to an isoleucine leads
to a loss of activity. Activity is regained when a further mutation at the same
site changes the isoleucine to a glycine. Why?

4. Why is it more important for DNA to be replicated accurately than transcribed

accurately?
5. Explain why the lagging strand is discontinuous.
6. What role does an operon play in the synthesis of enzymes in prokaryotes?

Questions were edited & taken from Campbell and Farrell Biochemistry 7 th ed., www.biologycorner.com, and Prof.
Espanos MBB 10 slides.
V2 (10/12/2015) | Prepared by the UP Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Society | Page 7