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KCET Molecular Basis of Inheritance — practice questions

Explore 29 free Molecular Basis of Inheritance questions in KCET Biology. Open each question or exercise to read its content, reference answers and available explanation.

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Molecular Basis of Inheritance questions and exercises with answers

Showing questions 1–29 of 29.

DNA was first identified as an acidic substance in the nucleus by:Read the answer and worked solution →In the Watson-Crick double helix, adenine pairs with thymine via how many hydrogen bonds?Read the answer and worked solution →In a DNA molecule with 20% cytosine, what is the percentage of adenine?Read the answer and worked solution →In the Watson-Crick model, the two polynucleotide strands of DNA are:Read the answer and worked solution →The pitch of the DNA double helix is approximately:Read the answer and worked solution →Two adjacent nucleotides in a polynucleotide chain are joined by:Read the answer and worked solution →Histones are positively charged because they are rich in:Read the answer and worked solution →A typical nucleosome contains approximately how many base pairs of DNA?Read the answer and worked solution →Heterochromatin (densely packed, dark-staining chromatin) is:Read the answer and worked solution →In E. coli (~4.6 × 10⁶ bp), DNA replication is completed in approximately 18 minutes, giving an average rate of:Read the answer and worked solution →The enzyme that joins the discontinuous Okazaki fragments on the lagging strand is:Read the answer and worked solution →Replication does not initiate randomly along a DNA molecule; it starts at:Read the answer and worked solution →The central dogma of molecular biology (Francis Crick) states:Read the answer and worked solution →A transcription unit in DNA has three parts:Read the answer and worked solution →In eukaryotes, RNA polymerase II transcribes:Read the answer and worked solution →Of the 64 possible codons in the genetic code:Read the answer and worked solution →The genetic code is described as 'degenerate' because:Read the answer and worked solution →The genetic code was deciphered largely through the work of:Read the answer and worked solution →The site of protein synthesis (translation) is the:Read the answer and worked solution →The bond formed between two amino acids during translation is a:Read the answer and worked solution →During translation, the activation of an amino acid and its linkage to its cognate tRNA is called:Read the answer and worked solution →The lac operon (Jacob & Monod) consists of which structural genes?Read the answer and worked solution →The lac operon is regulated by the lac repressor binding to the:Read the answer and worked solution →According to HGP findings, what percentage of the human genome codes for proteins?Read the answer and worked solution →In eukaryotes, exons are:Read the answer and worked solution →Approximately how many genes does the human genome contain (per HGP)?Read the answer and worked solution →DNA or RNA?Read the answer and worked solution →Order the flow of genetic informationRead the answer and worked solution →Naming the processesRead the answer and worked solution →

Worked practice questions

DNA was first identified as an acidic substance in the nucleus by:

  1. Watson and Crick (1953)
  2. Erwin Chargaff
  3. Hershey and Chase (1952)
  4. Friedrich Meischer (1869) — named it 'Nuclein'
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Correct answer: D. Friedrich Meischer (1869) — named it 'Nuclein'

**Friedrich Meischer** isolated DNA from pus cells in 1869 and named the acidic substance **'Nuclein'**. The structure took another 80+ years to elucidate (Watson-Crick, 1953).

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In the Watson-Crick double helix, adenine pairs with thymine via how many hydrogen bonds?

  1. 3
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 4
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Correct answer: C. 2

**A=T → 2 H-bonds**. **G≡C → 3 H-bonds**. GC-rich DNA is more thermostable than AT-rich because of the stronger G-C pairing.

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In a DNA molecule with 20% cytosine, what is the percentage of adenine?

  1. 30%
  2. 60%
  3. 20%
  4. 50%
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Correct answer: A. 30%

**Chargaff:** C = G = 20%, so C + G = 40%. Hence A + T = 60%. Since A = T, **A = 30%**.

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