Biology I—Chapter 12         DNA and RNA

After reading pages 287-292, I can:                                (terms)

1.      note the contribution to DNA research made by British scientist Frederick Griffith in 1928.

2.      explain the process of  transformation.

3.      note the contribution to DNA research made by Canadian biologist Oswald Avery (et. al.) in 1944.

4.      describe the life cycle of a bacteriophage.

5.      note the contribution to DNA research made by American scientists Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase in 1952.

6.      state the three critical things genes are known to do.

7.      give the name of the individual chemical units that make up a DNA molecule; name the three basic parts of each of these units.

8.      name the four nitrogenous bases found in DNA; classify each as a purine of a pyrimidine.

9.      name the two chemical compounds that form the backbone of a DNA molecule.

10.  state Chargaff’s Rules as proposed by American biochemist Erwin Chargaff.

After reading pages 292-297, I can:                                (terms)

1.      describe the experimental work done in the early 1950’s by British scientist Rosalind Franklin.

2.      name the two scientists (one a British physicist, the other an American biologist) that eventually deciphered the three-dimensional shape of the DNA molecule.

3.      name Watson’s famous book that also describes the shape of the DNA molecule.

4.      describe the shape of a double helix.

5.      give the term that describes how hydrogen bonds form only between certain base pairs; give the two combinations of base pairs that will form from this principle.

6.      tell how many chromosomes are found in diploid (regular) human cells.

7.      give the amount (length) of DNA found in the nucleus of a human cell.

8.      name the form the chromosomes of DNA (along with a protein material) take on during most of their life in the nucleus.

9.      tell what histones do.

10.  name the beadlike structure formed by the DNA tightly coiled around the histones; give the major purpose of these structures.

After reading pages 297-303, I can:                               (terms)

1.      explain what is meant when a DNA has strands that are said to be complementary.

2.      give the name for the copying process done by DNA.

3.      name the enzyme responsible for DNA replication.

4.      list the three ways RNA differs from DNA.

5.      describe what happens during the process of protein synthesis; name the part of the cell where protein synthesis occurs.

6.      describe the role of messenger RNA.

7.      name the type of RNA that assembles proteins in the ribosomes; name the type of RNA that gathers-up the amino acids and makes them available to the ribosomes.

8.      tell what happens during the transcription process; name the enzyme that carries out this process.

9.      give the name for a protein formed by long chains of amino acids.

10.  tell how many letters (bases) are read at a time in the genetic code; give the name that applies to each  of these “word” sequences..

After reading pages 303-312, I can:                                (terms)

1.      name the process that occurs on ribosomes where the mRNA message is used to make a protein chain.

2.      outline the four steps of the translation process.

3.      give the name for random (and often unexplained) changes in a DNA sequence that affect genetic information; give the origin of the term.

4.      contrast gene mutations and chromosomal mutations.

5.      explain cell differentiation as it relates to stem cells.

6.      name the “master control genes” that determine how a cell will develop.

Biology I—Chapter 13

Genetic Engineering   

After reading pages 331-333, I can:                             (terms)                                                               

1. describe the 1986 work of geneticist Steven Howell.
2. give the term used to describe an organism that contains genes from another species.
3. name the new industry that has grown from manipulating genes (genetic engineering) in and among species to produce new products useful (or harmful?) to humans.
4. name a human “disease” that is currently treated with the use of transgenic microorganisms.
5. describe a way genetic modification (transgenics) is used in the production of food crops by plants.
6. give the term that describes a population of genetically identical cells produced from a single cell, thus having identical DNA.
7. describe the 1997 work of the Scottish scientist Ian Wilmut.

Biology I—Chapter 14 

The Human Genome

After reading pages 341-343, I can:                                                      (terms)                         

1. describe a karyotype.
2. tell what is shown in a human karyotype.
3. locate the sex chromosomes in a human karyotype.
4. give the name assigned to the chromosomes that are not sex chromosomes.
5. give the name for a chart that can be created to show the relationships that exist in a family; tell how males and females are noted on the chart; tell how a person with and without a trait would be shown on the chart.
6. describe the effect “environment” has on development; *explain the genetics-environment debate as it related to animal development.