What Is Life? A Guide to Biology

Jay Phelan

Chapter 5

DNA, Gene Expression, and Biotechnology - all with Video Answers

Educators

Chapter Questions

Problem 1

A person's DNA is carried in:
a) muscle cells.
b) hair.
c) saliva.
d) skin cells.
e) All of the above contain a person's DNA.

Kadry Samuels

Kadry Samuels

Numerade Educator

Problem 2

Which of the following are always the same in every DNA molecule?
a) the sugar
b) the base
c) the phosphate group
d) Only a) and b) are always the same.
e) Only a) and $c$ ) are always the same.

Kadry Samuels

Numerade Educator

Problem 3

The full set of an individual organism's DNA is called its:
a) complement.
b) genome.
c) nucleosome.
d) nucleotide.
e) chromosome.

Kadry Samuels

Numerade Educator

Problem 4

In humans, genes make up __________ of the DNA.
a) about $75 \%$
b) $100 \%$
c) less than $5 \%$
d) about $10 \%$
e) about $50 \%$

Kadry Samuels

Numerade Educator

Problem 5

Genotype is to phenotype as:
a) cookie is to oven.
b) cookie is to recipe.
c) cookbook is to cookie.
d) recipe is to cookie.
e) oven is to cookie.

Kadry Samuels

Numerade Educator

Problem 6

To start the transcription process, a large molecule, ______, recognizes a ______.
a) RNA polymerase; messenger RNA
b) DNA polymerase; termination site
c) DNA polymerase; promoter site
d) RNA polymerase; promoter site
e) DNA polymerase; messenger RNA.

Kadry Samuels

Numerade Educator

Problem 7

During transcription, at the point at which the DNA strand being copied has an adenine, a(n) ______ is added to the ______.
a) thymine; tRNA
b) cytosine; DNA
c) uracil; tRNA
d) adenine; mRNA
e) uracil; mRNA.

Kadry Samuels

Numerade Educator

Problem 8

There are different ______ molecules for each of the 20 different amino acids that are used in building proteins.
a) ribosomal subunit
b) tRNA
c) mRNA
d) DNA
e) elongation

Kadry Samuels

Numerade Educator

Problem 9

Deletions and substitutions are two types of point mutations. Which type is more likely to cause mistranslations of proteins?
a) Substitutions, because they shift the reading frame and cause downstream amino acids to be changed.
b) Substitutions, because one protein is substituted for another protein.
c) Deletions, because they shift the reading frame and cause downstream amino acids to be changed.
d) Deletions, because one protein is deleted.
e) None of the above is correct.

Kadry Samuels

Numerade Educator

Problem 10

Which of the following statements about the metabolism of ethanol (which is present in alcoholic beverages) is incorrect?
a) Individuals who produce non-functioning aldehyde dehydrogenase exhibit "fastflushing."
b) The process requires two enzymes: alcohol dehydrogenase and isopropyl dehydrogenase.
c) Individuals who are "fast-flushers" are less likely to become alcoholics.
d) Aspirin interferes with the action of alcohol dehydrogenase.
e) All of the above are correct.

Kadry Samuels

Numerade Educator

Problem 11

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR):
a) makes it possible to create huge numbers of copies of tiny pieces of DNA.
b) enables researchers to determine the sequence of a complementary strand of DNA when they have only single-stranded DNA.
c) utilizes RNA polymerase to build strands of DNA.
d) can create messenger RNA molecules from small pieces of DNA.
e) All of the above are correct.

Kadry Samuels

Numerade Educator

Problem 12

Which of the following is not a difficulty that medicine has encountered in its attempts to cure human diseases through gene therapy?
a) The transfer organism- -usually a virus- -may get into unintended cells and cause disease.
b) It is difficult to get the working gene into the specific cells where it is needed.
c) It is difficult to get the working gene into enough cells at the right rate to have a physiological effect.
d) For many diseases, a malfunctioning gene has not been identified.
e) All of the above are difficulties encountered in attempts to cure human diseases through gene therapy.

Kadry Samuels

Numerade Educator

Problem 13

Golden rice:
a) grows without a husk, thereby reducing the processing required before it can be consumed.
b) can make vitamin A without beta-carotene.
c) could help prevent blindness in the 250,000 children who lose their sight each year because of vitamin A deficiency.
d) supplies more vitamin $A$ in one serving than an individual needs in a full week.
e) is one of the most recent developments in organic farming.

Kadry Samuels

Numerade Educator

Problem 14

Which of the following statements about Bt crystals is correct?
a) They are produced by soil-dwelling bacteria of the species Bacillus thuringiensis.
b) The gene coding for the production of Bt crystals has been genetically engineered into the genome of dairy cows, increasing their milk production sixfold.
c) They are produced by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
d) They are produced by most weedy species of plants.
e) All of the above are correct.

Kadry Samuels

Numerade Educator

Problem 15

Highly repetitive sequences of DNA:
a) are characteristic of genes that code for biochemical traits rather than structural traits.
b) are used in biotechnology when creating a clone.
c) are produced when a mutation occurs in a non-sex cell.
d) can be used to produce a DNA fingerprint.
e) are produced when a mutation occurs in a sperm-producing or egg-producing cell.

Kadry Samuels

Numerade Educator