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ASSIGNMENT 1
Biology I, Pre-Health Sciences - Durham College, Fall 2019
/50 marks
EVALUATION NOTES
• While students may work in groups, each student must submit their own original work.
Instructions:.
• Answer in the spaces provided
• Read the questions carefully and thoroughly
• Consider the point value of each question as a guide for how much detail you should include
• Remember to write all answers IN YOUR OWN WORDS
• For short answer questions, answer in full sentences
2
Name: Matthew Francis
_____________________ CRN#: _____________________
100766200
Student ID: _____________________ 10/12/2019
Date: _____________________
UNIT 3: Cells
5. (2.5 marks) MATCH the correct term with its appropriate description:
A. Cell membrane G. Golgi apparatus
B. Nucleus C. Nucleolus H. Lysosome
D. Ribosome I. Cilia
E. Rough endoplasmic reticulum J. Flagella
F. Smooth endoplasmic reticulum K. Mitochondria
6. (1.5 marks) Below is a chart containing the 3 stages of cellular respiration. Indicate where these
processes take place inside of the cell. Be as specific as possible.
Stage Location in cell
Glycolysis
Cytosol
3
Name: Matthew Francis
_____________________ CRN#: _____________________
100766200
Student ID: _____________________ 10/12/2019
Date: _____________________
7. (1.5 marks) Explain THREE full differences between meiosis and mitosis. Differences
Meiosis Vs Mitosis
9. (2 marks) Describe what a human male karyotype would look like for a person with Down
Syndrome. Include at least FOUR points in your description.
Interphase
10. (0.5 mark) During which stage of the cell cycle is a copy of the DNA made? __________
4
Name: Matthew Francis
_____________________ CRN#: _____________________
100766200
Student ID: _____________________ 10/12/2019
Date: _____________________
UNIT 5: Genetics
11. (2 marks) Compare and contrast the structure of DNA and RNA. List ONE similarity and
THREE differences.
Differences
DNA Vs RNA
Similarities
They are both nucleic acids that contain adenine, cytosine, and guanine.
UNIT 6: Evolution
12. (3 marks) Indicate whether the following statements are TRUE or FALSE:
F
a. ______ Microevolution is defined as the change in inherited traits in a population of
organisms within multiple species over time
T
b. ______ Antibiotic resistance is an example of microevolution
F
c. ______ Evolution is the change in the non-inherited traits in a population of organisms
over time
5
Name: Matthew Francis
_____________________ CRN#: _____________________
100766200
Student ID: _____________________ 10/12/2019
Date: _____________________
Instructions: [Source]
• Answer in the spaces provided
• Read the questions carefully and thoroughly
• Consider the point value of each question as a guide for how much detail
you should include
• Remember to write all answers IN YOUR
OWN WORDS
• For short answer questions, answer in full sentences
• Helpful (but detailed!) link about sickle cell anemia:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ql-
X60CUNQ
Scenario: Hiba is a student in the Pre-Health Sciences program at Durham College. She is enjoying
being back in the classroom after several years of working as a personal support worker in the Durham
region. While the demands of school are intense, Hiba knows that her hard work and dedication will
pay off as she pursues a career in nursing.
Several weeks into the term, Hiba notices that her 7-month-old daughter, Douaa – a baby with a
contagious smile and a voracious appetite for banana and sweet potato – appears out of sorts and seems
to have painful swelling in her hands and feet. Hiba also realizes that Douaa doesn’t appear to have put
on much weight over the last month or two in comparison to when she was younger. Worried, she brings
Douaa to her local emergency room at Lakeridge Health.
In the emergency room a friendly doctor named Dr. Raghavan is able to see them. As she assesses Douaa
she notes 2 key areas in her charts, as follows:
Area A = Swelling in left hand, anterior side, proximal to fingers, distal to wrist.
Area B = Abnormal size of interior organ, left side, inferior to heart, superior to
pancreas, lateral and posterior to the left kidney
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Name: Matthew Francis
_____________________ CRN#: _____________________
100766200
Student ID: _____________________ 10/12/2019
Date: _____________________
d. Gall bladder
Scenario: After her assessment, Dr. Raghavan tells Hiba that the swelling and lack of growth rate could
indicate something more serious. She would like to draw some blood and run a few more tests. She
comes back 3 hours later with the results – the tests suggest that Douaa has a genetic mutation in her
DNA causing a disruption in the oxygen-carrying blood protein, hemoglobin. She carefully reveals that
Douaa is suffering from a disease called sickle cell anemia and needs to be admitted to begin immediate
treatment.
Hiba’s mind immediately begins racing with questions. What causes sickle cell anemia? How is it
treated? How does a DNA mutation impact a blood protein? What does this mean for her daughter’s
future? It all feels so overwhelming. She takes a deep breath, fights back tears, and gives Douaa a big
hug. She then calls her parents, arranges a babysitter for her other kids, and works to get Douaa admitted
and settled in her room. As Douaa falls asleep and the hospital staff change over to the night shift, Hiba
rolls up her sleeves, settles into a hospital chair, and begins to search for more answers on her phone.
15. (1 mark) Hiba begins with a quick Google search of “sickle cell anemia mutation.” She finds
the DNA sequences listed below. Based on your knowledge of mutations, circle or highlight
the specific DNA mutation that causes sickle-cell anemia:
Healthy: GGA CTC CTC
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Name: Matthew Francis
_____________________ CRN#: _____________________
100766200
Student ID: _____________________ 10/12/2019
Date: _____________________
16. (5 marks) Next, Hiba uses her Biology lecture slides to help her visualize exactly what those 9
letters would look like in a hemoglobin gene. Draw a simplified diagram of the DNA sequence,
GGA CAC CTC. Your drawing can be done by hand on paper or made digitally as long as a
clear photo or a screenshot of your work is submitted. For simplicity, the DNA structure should
be drawn as an untwisted ladder using the check list below as a guide:
Checklist:
DNA is double stranded and 9 nucleotides long
Each nucleotide shows a properly arranged sugar, phosphate and nitrogenous base
Complementary base pairing is present, including the correct number of hydrogen bonds
Labels are included: nucleotide, sugar, phosphate, nitrogenous base, hydrogen bonds, DNA
backbone
The diagram is accompanied by a brief written description
8
Name: Matthew Francis
_____________________ CRN#: _____________________
100766200
Student ID: _____________________ 10/12/2019
Date: _____________________
Scenario: Next, Hiba starts to think more about how DNA mutations lead to problems with proteins. For
example, she doesn’t understand how a small change in her daughter’s DNA could lead to a problem with
hemoglobin. To help Hiba navigate this question, answer the questions below:
17. (1 mark) Multiple choice: In a red blood cell, the hemoglobin gene is copied into an mRNA
through the process of transcription. Based on the DNA sequence given in Question 16, what is
the mRNA sequence for hemoglobin in a person suffering from sickle cell anemia?
a. GGA CAC CTC
b. GGA CAC CUC
c. CCU GAG GAG
d. CCT GTG GAG
e. CCU GUG GAG
18. (1 mark) Multiple choice: What organelle does the transcription of hemoglobin takes place in?
a. Nucleus
b. Ribosome
c. Nuclear membrane
d. Endoplasmic reticulum
e. Cytoplasm
19. (1 mark) Multiple choice: What happens immediately after the hemoglobin mRNA molecule is
transcribed?
a. It stays in the nucleus
b. It goes to the mitochondria to get translated
c. It goes to the ribosome
d. It undergoes exocytosis
e. It gets converted to tRNA
20. (1 mark) Multiple choice: When _________ occurs, the hemoglobin mRNA is used as a template
to make hemoglobin protein.
a. Translation
b. Replication
c. Osmosis
d. Transcription
e. Diffusion
21. (1 mark) Multiple choice: During translation, codon sequences within an mRNA molecule are
read 3 nucleotides at a time. The sequence of a codon determines what ________ will be added
to the growing protein strand.
a. Anticodon
b. Amino acid
c. Monosaccharide
d. tRNA
e. mRNA
9
Name: Matthew Francis
_____________________ CRN#: _____________________
100766200
Student ID: _____________________ 10/12/2019
Date: _____________________
Hiba feels the pieces connecting now. She realizes that if you change a DNA sequence (like
the case with her daughter’s mutation in the hemoglobin gene), the resulting mRNA also gets changed
during transcription. This then causes the ribosome to add the wrong amino acid during translation,
leading to an improperly built hemoglobin protein. Hiba pauses and wipes her brow. While it is starting
to make more sense, she still doesn’t get why changing 1 amino acid in the hemoglobin protein
dramatically alters its function. To help her understand this, answer the following questions:
22. (4 marks) Describe the structure of the hemoglobin protein by filling in the chart below:
Write the name Write the name List the 4 layers of folding
YES or NO – Can a
of its protein of its protein present in hemoglobin, in
hemoglobin function if it is
monomer. polymer. order from least folded to
unfolded or denatured?
most folded.
Polypetide - <------ Primary (poly peptide
strand), Secondary(Alpha
helix. beta pleated sheets),
- tertiary (3 dimensional
structure), quaternary
- (Multiple tertiary structures).
<---Amino Acid
-
No it can't function if unfolded
or denatured.
23. (2 marks) Using the information from the chart as a guide, explain in detail how a change to an
amino acid within hemoglobin (like in Douaa’s case) could affect its ability to carry oxygen
efficiently throughout the bloodstream. Be sure to include appropriate terminology.
A change in an amino acid can cause the protein to fold improperly affecting its
function. This change occurs because the folding of proteins depends on bonding
between specific amino acids, so if you change an amino acid you change the bond;
structure = function.
24. (1 mark) A change in hemoglobin’s shape also causes a “clumping effect” inside of a red
blood cell. This gives the red blood cells a sickle-shape as opposed to its normal round,
biconcave shape. What organelle within the body is typically responsible for maintaining the
shape of a cell?
The organelle responsible for maintaining cell structure is the cytoskeleton.
10
Name: Matthew Francis
_____________________ CRN#: _____________________
Student ID: 100766200
_____________________ 10/12/2019
Date: _____________________
Hiba is tired. It is almost midnight, and Douaa appears to be sleeping soundly. Hiba admits
to herself that she should probably try to sleep at least a little in order to be as fresh as possible for
Douaa’s treatment tomorrow. Hiba grabs a lumpy pillow and an extra blanket and curls up beside Douaa
in the small bed. She is just about to drift off when a terrible thought occurs to her – what if SHE gave
Douaa sickle cell anemia? After all, it WAS a genetic illness. Could she have somehow passed on a
gene to Douaa that causes her to be sick? She sits back up and goes back to the chair with her biology
lecture slides on inheritance. She grabs a pencil and cautiously begins sketching out a Punnett square –
she knows she won’t be able to fall asleep until she figures it out.
25. The trait for sickle cell anemia is recessive (a) and the trait for healthy is dominant (A). Assuming
sickle cell anemia follows a Mendelian pattern of inheritance, answer the following:
a. (2 marks) What would Douaa’s genotype and phenotype be?
aa
Genotype of Douaa = __________
Sickle cell anemic
Phenotype of Douaa = __________
b. (2 marks) If Hiba and Douaa’s father are healthy, what must both their genotypes be?
Aa
Genotype of Hiba = __________
Aa
Genotype of Douaa’s father = __________
c. (2 marks) Complete a Punnett square showing a cross between Hiba and Douaa’s
father.
A a
A AA Aa
a Aa aa
d. (1 mark) What were the chances that Douaa was born with sickle cell anemia?
25%
List your answer as a percent or a fraction. ________
e. (1 mark) If Hiba and Douaa’s father were to have another child, what are the chances
75%
that their child would be healthy? List your answer as a percent or a fraction. _______
f. (1 mark) Given the genetics above, are Hiba’s concerns warranted? Should she feel
guilty? Discuss in your own words.
Hiba's concerns are not warranted because both her and her partner are
healthy and had no concern for passing the disease off to their offspring.
Because she had no prior knowledge that her and her partner were
heterozygous with the alleles she shouldn't feel guilty for passing on the trait.
11
Name: Matthew Francis
_____________________ CRN#: _____________________
100766200
Student ID: _____________________ 10/12/2019
Date: _____________________
The next day, Dr. Raghavan meets them in their hospital room along with a hemotologist,
Dr. Zlochower, who specializes in blood disorders. They explain that sickle-cell anemia is not a curable
disease unless a bone marrow transplant is performed. This process, however, has serious risks
associated with it, including death, and finding a donor is often difficult. While they will explore this
option further and screen Hiba and her family to see if they are matches, they suggest a treatment plan
for Douaa that will help manage and prevent her symptoms. Specifically, they would like to start her on
antibiotics (to prevent infections), pain-relieving medications, and blood transfusions.
In addition to this standard treatment, Dr. Raghavan and Dr. Zlochower also tell Hiba about an
experimental treatment that she may want to consider that uses a drug called hydroxyurea. This drug
works by activating a second hemoglobin gene present within the genome. Normally this gene is turned
on when the fetus is developing during pregnancy but then turns off several months after birth. By
reactivating it, the hemoglobin produced from the second gene has been shown to help relieve symptoms.
26. (1 mark) Multiple choice – The ability to turn genes on and off is referred to as:
a. Gene expression
b. Gene regulation
c. Homeostasis
d. Transcription
e. Replication
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