THEME 1

Macromolecules
THREADS
Organisation
Selectivity
Energy Flow
Perpetuation
Evolution
Human Awareness

WORKSHEETS
1

The structure of DNA

Chromosomes are made up of genes

DNA and protein synthesis

Structure and function of protein molecules in cells

The importance of polysaccharides and lipids

DNA replication

Enzymes

DNA and protein evidence for evolution

Mutations

10

Genetic manipulation

11

Some social consequences of genetic

manipulation

12

Multiplying and sequencing DNA

KEY IDEAS
Students should know and understand the following:
M1.

The chemical unit of genetic information in most organisms is DNA

M2.

The structural unit of information in the cell is the chromosome

M3.

The functional unit of information on the chromosome is the gene

M4.

The flow of information from DNA to protein is unidirectional in most

organisms
DNA RNA protein

M5.

The three-dimensional structure of a protein is critical to its function

M6.

Polysaccharides and lipids are important macromolecules in cells and

organisms

M7.

Specific base-pairing is the mechanism of DNA replication

M8.

Enzymes are specific for their substrate

M9.

Molecular recognition is an important property for life processes

M10. Enzymes increase reaction rates by lowering activation energy

M11. Macromolecules are used as energy reserves
M12. DNA carries genetic information from one generation to the next
M13. The universal presence of DNA is strong evidence for the common ancestry
of all living things
M14. DNA and protein sequences usually show greater similarity between closely
related groups of organisms than between distantly related groups
M15. Change in the base sequence of DNA can lead to the alteration or absence of
proteins, and to the appearance of new characteristics in the descendants
M16. Human beings can manipulate DNA
M17. Human beings can sequence even small amounts of DNA

( SSABSA Stage 2 Biology Curriculum Statement 2006, p22-24 and used with permission.
Teachers and students are advised to check the website www.ssabsa.sa.edu.sa for any changes.)

SACE 2 BIOLOGY Essentials WORKBOOK

Worksheet 1

The structure of DNA

DNAstandsfordeoxyribonucleicacid.Thismoleculeisfoundprimarilyinthenucleusofcells.Itisa
doublestrandedmoleculewiththestrandswoundaroundeachothertoformadoublehelix.The
moleculeismadeupofrepeatingunitscallednucleotides.Asinglenucleotideismadeupofthree
components:adeoxyribosesugar,aphosphateandanorganicbase.
Thediagrambelowisarepresentationof2nucleotidesbondedtogether.

Bases

Deoxyribose
sugar

Phosphate

G
A

G
A
C
C

Weak hydrogen bonds between bases

TherearefourorganicbasesfoundinDNA:Adenine,Thymine,Guanineand
Cytosine.ThelettersA,T,GandCrepresentthesebases.
AsinglestrandofDNAisasequenceofnucleotidesjoinedtogetherwith
alternatingphosphateandsugarcomponents.Thedoublehelixmoleculeconsists
oftwocomplementarystrandsthatarejoinedbyhydrogenbondsbetweenthe
bases.Thebasesalwayspairinspecificways:
AdeninealwaysbondswithThymine
GuaninealwaysbondswithCytosine
ThyminealwaysbondswithAdenine
CytosinealwaysbondswithGuanine

TheadjacentdiagramshowsthedoublehelicalmodelforDNAfirstproposed
bytwoscientistsWatsonandCrickin1953.

C
T

T
C

G
A

T
A

G
A

C
T

1. Writeaconcisestatementtoexplaineachofthefollowingterms:
complementary
...

DNA

...

macromolecule

...

monomer

...

nucleicacid

...

nucleotide

...

organic

...

polymer

...

base

...

deoxyribosesugar

...

phosphate

...

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Worksheet 1 THE STRUCTURE OF DNA

2. ThefollowingsequenceofbaseswasfoundinasegmentofDNA
A A G G C T T G C

Writethesequenceofbasesthatwouldbefoundinthecomplementarystrand.
.

3. NamethefourmajororganicbasesfoundinDNA.
.....
4. WritedownthefourpossiblebasepairingsinDNA.
....
5. IfasequenceofDNAhas30%guaninebasesinitwhatpercentageofthyminewouldtherebe?
....

6. Refertothediagrambelow.

Sugar

Phosphate

Sugar

Phosphate

Sugar

Phosphate

Sugar

Phosphate

Base

Base

Base

Base

(a)CircleanucleotideintherepresentationofastrandofDNAshownabove.

(b)Howmanynucleotidesareshowninthediagram?.

7. UsethefiguretolabelABCandDinthediagrambelow.

C
D

....

....

....

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SACE 2 BIOLOGY Essentials WORKBOOK

Worksheet 2

Chromosomes are made up of genes

ChromosomesarethreadlikestructuresmadeupofDNAandproteinscallhistones.Thesestructuresare
foundinthenucleusofeukaryoticcellsandarevisibleasthecellsstarttodivide.Thechromosome
numberisconstantforeachspecies,e.g.46inhumans,48inachimpanzee,40inamouseand38in
cabbage.ChromosomesinnondividingcellsaresinglestrandedandtheDNAisnotcondensed,thatis,
theDNAisspreadouttomakeiteasiertoaccessgenesintranscription,animportantprocessinprotein
synthesisandreplication,whereanothercopyoftheDNAismade.Whenthechromosomesarevisible
duringtheProphasestageofmitosisand/ormeiosistheyappeardoublestranded.Thisdoublinghas
occurredastheDNAhasreplicatedinorderthatnewcellscanreceivetheircomplementofDNA.
Ageneistheunitofheredity.GenesrepresentsequencesofthebasesATGandConchromosomesand
codeforproteinmoleculesorpartsofproteinmolecules.Eachgeneisfoundonaparticularchromosome.
Genesprescribethefeaturesofanorganism:greeneyes,skincolourortheshapeofanose.Inahuman
with46chromosomesitisthoughtthattherearearound40,000genes,eachchromosomecontaining
hundredsorthousandsofgenes.
Asinglegeneusuallycontainsbetween300toseveralthousandbases.Eachgenehasastartandafinish
tosignalwheretranscriptionbeginsandends.
Thediagrambelowshowsschematicrepresentationsofsomehumanchromosomesandsomeofthegene
locationsthathavebeenidentified.

Familial
Retinitis
Colon Cancer Pigmentosa

11

12

Cystic
Fibrosis

Malignant
Melanoma

Sickle Cell
Anemia

PKU

14
Alzheimer's
Disease

17
Breast
Cancer

The human genome project.

Thisisaprojectthatwasfirstproposedaround1987.Itsaimwastomaptheentiresequenceofgenesto
chromosomesandsequencethehumangenome.Thefigureaboveillustratessomeoftheknowngene
locations(loci).InAdelaideagroupofscientistsattheWomenandChildrensHospitalisinvolvedin
studyingchromosome16.Thisoverallmappingisamajorundertakingasthereareapproximately3
billionbuildingblocksornucleotidesinthetotalgenome.ThefirststagewascompletedinaboutJune
2000.

Thisphotographshowsatypicalsetofhuman
chromosomes,whichwastakenfromapreparedslide
usingalightmicroscope.
Theimageshavebeencutoutandpastedtogethertoshow
thehomologouspairs.Untilrecentlythiswasdonewith
scissors,itisnowdonewithcomputersoftwareTheyare
generallynumberedandarrangedfromlongesttoshortest.
Thesexchromosomesarebottomrightofthisphoto.
Thisisthemalesetofchromosomesorkaryotype.Afemale
hastwocopiesofthelonger(X)sexchromosome
insteadofonelong(X)andoneshort(Y).

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Worksheet 2 CHROMOSOMES ARE MADE UP OF GENES

1. Writeaconcisestatementtoexplaineachofthefollowingterms:
. chromatid
...

chromosome

...

gene

...

genome

...

2. Inwhatorganellearethechromosomesfoundineukaryoticcells?
3. Whyarethechromosomesnotusuallyvisibleinnondividingcells?
...
...
4. ExplainthedifferencesbetweenDNA,genes,chromosomes.
...
...
5. Whatdoesitmeantosaythatageneislinkedtoachromosome?
...
...
6. Explainthesignificanceofdifferentspecieshavingdifferentnumbersandtypesofchromosomes?
...
.....
7. Approximatelyhowmanygenesarethere;
....
(a)ononehumanchromosome?

(b)inthehumangenome?

....

8. ScientistshaveknownforaconsiderableperiodoftimethatthegeneforcolourblindnessisontheX
chromosome.
(a)SuggesthowitwasdiscoveredthatthiswaslinkedtotheXchromosome.

...
...
(b)GeneslikethisaresaidtobeXlinkedandthecharacteristicsaresaidtobesexlinked.Explain
whythisisso.

...
...

9. Explainwhatitmeanstosaythatthestructuralunitofinformationinanorganismisthechromosome.
...
...
...
...

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10

Worksheet 3

SACE 2 BIOLOGY Essentials WORKBOOK

DNA and protein synthesis

GenesontheDNAcodeforaspecificsequenceofaminoacids(aa)thatcompriseapolypeptide.Several
poypeptidesusuallymakeupaprotein.TheycanalsocodefortheproductionofanRNAmolecule.

Proteinsynthesisrequirestwosteps:transcriptionandtranslation.

Threemainnucleicacidsareinvolved.
DNA:
providesthetemplatefortheproductionofthemRNA.
mRNA:
transcribedfromtheDNAandprovidesasequenceofcodonsthatareabletobe
translatedintoasequenceofaminoacidsontheribosomes.
tRNA:
therearemorethan20differenttypesofthese,eachonecapableofcarryingonlyone
typeofaminoacid.
Transcription
ThisprocessoccursinthenucleusofacellandiswheretheDNAtemplateactsasacodetotranscribea
genesegmentofDNAbasesintoaworkingcopyofmRNA.TheenzymeinvolvediscalledRNA
Polymerase.
Thediagrambelowshowstheprocessoftranscription.

T
C

RNA polymerase

TA

Nucleotides
used to assemble
the mRNA

G
CG

C
T

T
C
C

DNA Template

G
C

C
U

UA

Growing mRNA strand

C
C

T A

U
A

T A

CG
T

mRNAnucleotidesinthenucleusarebindingtotheexposedDNAbasestoformaworkingcopyofthe
genethatwillbeabletobetranslatedontheribosomestoformprotein.
Translation
IsaprocesswherethecodonsequenceonthemRNAistranslatedintoanaminoacidlanguage.tRNA
moleculescarryspecificaminoacidsintopositionastheanticodonofthetRNAlinkswiththecodonon
themRNA.
Thenextdiagramshowstheprocessoftranslation.

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Worksheet 3 DNA AND PROTEIN SYNTHESIS

Leucine

Serine

11

Growing polypeptide chain

tRNA molecule

Anti codon
A

codon

mRNA molecule

ribosome

Inthediagramabove,leucineandserinearethefirsttwoaminoacidsthatarejoinedtogetherbypeptide
bondstostartthepolypeptideorprotein.
The steps involved in protein synthesis can be set out as follows.
1.

ThedoublehelixoftheDNAunwindsandunzipsattherequiredgenesiteexposingthenitrogenous
basesonthetemplate.

2.

mRNAnucleotidebases(AUGC)attachtotheexposedDNAbaseswiththeassistanceofthe
enzymeRNApolymerase.

3.

OncethesequenceforthemRNAhasbeencompleted,themRNAisreleasedandmovesoutofthe
nucleusintothecytoplasm.

4.

TheDNAstrandswillrejoinandrecoilthemselvestoformthedoublehelix.

5.

ThemRNAmoleculeattachestotheribosomesinthecytoplasm.

6.

SpecificaminoacidscombinewiththeirappropriatetRNAmolecules.

7.

TheribosomemovesalongthemRNAmoleculeattachingtheappropriatetRNAanticodontothe
codononthemRNA.

8.

Theaminoacidsjointogethertoformapolypeptidesequence.

9.

Whenastopcodonisreachedthetranslationiscomplete.

10. Theproteinbreaksawayandisreadyforusewithinthecell,ortobepackagedandsecretedfrom
thecell.

1 Writeaconcisestatementtoexplaineachofthefollowingterms:
aminoacid

anticodon

codon

RNApolymerase

mRNA

ribosome

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12

SACE 2 BIOLOGY Essentials WORKBOOK

transcription

translation

tRNA

2. TohelpyouidentifydifferencesbetweenDNA,mRNA,andtRNA,completethefollowingstatements
bywritingtheappropriatenucleicacid(s)aftereachone.
a. issinglestranded

..

b.

hasadoublehelicalstructure

..

c.

isonlyfoundinthecytoplasm

..

d.

isfoundprimarilyinthenucleusofacell

..

e.

containsthebasethymine

..

f.

containsthebaseuracil

..

g.

isinvolvedintheprocessofreplication

..

h.

carriesaminoacidstotheribosomes

..

hastripletsofbasescalledcodons

..

isfoundinboththenucleusandcytoplasm

..

k hasthreebaseswhichcomprisetheanticodon ..

3. Explaintheroleofthefollowingintheprocessofproteinsynthesis:

DNA
..
...

mRNA

..

...

tRNA

..

...

aminoacids ..

...

ribosomes ..

...

mitochondria.

..

4. Explainthedifferencebetween:
a)transcriptionandtranslation

b)acodonandananticodon

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13

Worksheet 3 DNA AND PROTEIN SYNTHESIS

5. Usethediagrambelow,whichshowsasummaryoftheprocessofproteinsynthesis,towritethe
namesandrolesofthestructureslabelled:

NUCLEUS

CYTOPLASM

T
C

TA

E
G

CG

C
T

T
C
C

A
A

C
U

UA

D
J

C
C

B
C

T A

U
A

Leucine

Serine

T A

CG
T

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14

SACE 2 BIOLOGY Essentials WORKBOOK

6. Thetablebelowshowswhichcodonscarrytheinformationforeachaminoacid.
UUU
UUC
UUA
UUG

phe
phe
leu
leu

UCU
UCC
UCA
UCG

ser
ser
ser
ser

UAU
UAC
UAA
UAG

tyr
tyr
stop
stop

UGU
UGC
UGA
UGG

cys
cys
stop
trp

CUU
CUC
CUA
CUG

leu
leu
leu
leu

CCU
CCC
CCA
CCG

pro
pro
pro
pro

CAU
CAC
CAA
CAG

his
his
gln
gln

CGU
CGC
CGA
CGG

arg
arg
arg
arg

AUU
AUC
AUA
AUG

ile
ile
ile
start/met

ACU
ACC
ACA
ACG

thr
thr
thr
thr

AAU
AAC
AAA
AAG

asn
asn
lys
lys

AGU
AGC
AGA
AGG

ser
ser
arg
arg

GUU
GUC
GUA
GUG

val
val
val
val

GCU
GCC
GCA
GCG

ala
ala
ala
ala

GAU
GAC
GAA
GAG

asp
asp
glu
glu

GGU
GGC
GGA
GGG

gly
gly
gly
gly

Thetablebelowshowsthenamesoftheaminoacidstogetherwiththeabbreviationsusedinthetable
above.

ala=
alanine

gly= glycine

pro= proline
arg=
arginine

his= histidine

ser= serine
asn=
asparagine

ile= isoleucine

thr= threonine

asp=
asparticacid
leu= leucine

trp= tryptophan

cys=
cysteine

lys= lysine

tyr= tyrosine
gln=
glutamine

met= methionine

val= valine
glu=
glutamicacid
phe= phenylalanine

Now,usethetableofthegeneticcodeandnamesoftheaminoacidsgiventohelpyoucompletethe
followingtable.

DNAbasetriplets

AGA

mRNAcodons

________

________

________

________

CGG

________

________

tRNAanticodons

________

________

CUG

________

aminoacidcodedfor

________

________

________

methionine

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Worksheet 4 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF PROTEINS

Worksheet 4

15

Structure and function of protein molecules

Proteinmoleculesarelargepolymersmadeupofabout20commonbuildingblockscalledaminoacids
linkedtogether.Organismstypically,havethousandsofthesemolecules.Humansarethoughttohave
between50,000100,000differentproteins,eachonewithauniquethreedimensionalstructurethatis
criticalforitsparticularfunction.Proteinscanbeplacedinto2maingroups,fibrousorstructural
proteins,andglobularproteins.
Protein structure can be studied at four levels
Primarystructurethesequenceofaminoacidslinkedbypeptidebonds.Eachproteinischaracterised
byitsownuniquenumber,typeandsequenceofaminoacids.Typicallyproteinsaremadeupof
hundredstothousandsofaminoacids,haemoglobin,atransportprotein,issome400timesbiggerin
sizethanaglucosemolecule.
Secondarystructurethecoilingorfoldingofthepolypeptidechain.
Tertiarystructurethethreedimensionalstructure,whichisimportantforbinding.
Quaternarystructureappliestothoseproteinswithmorethanonepolypeptidestrand.
Itisthetertiarystructureofeachspecificproteinthatdeterminesitsspecificfunction.Ifthedelicatethree
dimensionalshapeofaproteinisaltered,itusuallyfollowsthatthefunctionofthatproteinisalso
inhibited,thisiscalleddenaturation.Thediagrambelowgivesadiagrammaticrepresentationofthe
differentlevelsofstructureinamoleculeofhaemoglobinwhichisaproteinfoundinblood.

Polypeptide
chain

ala
gly

leu

val
Heme

lys
PRIMARY
STRUCTURE

SECONDARY
STRUCTURE

TERTIARY
STRUCTURE

Polypeptide
chain

QUATERNARY
STRUCTURE

Thestructuralproteinsaremorefibrousinnatureandtendtohaverepeatingunitsofaminoacid
sequences,whereastheglobularproteinseachhavetheirownuniquesequencesgivingthemtheir
particularshapethatissovitalfortheirfunction.
Types of proteins.
Proteinscanbeplacedintogroupsdependingontheirparticularrolesintheorganism.
Structural
Examplesincludethosethatmakeupligamentsandtendons,whileothersassistinmovement,for
examplemuscleproteins.Keratinisanimportantstructuralproteinfoundinorganisms,itmakesupthe
outerlayerofskin,andisthemaincomponentofhair,nails,wool,beaksandfeathers.Proteins
embeddedinthecellmembranearevitalfortheefficientfunctioningofcells.Somehaverolesinactingas
channelproteinsallowingcertainmoleculestoenterorleavecells,butnotothers.Otherproteinsactas
receptorproteinsthatcanbindtochemicalslikehormones,andthusbringaboutaparticularresponse.
Defence
Specificproteinmolecules,calledantibodies,arereleasedfromwhitebloodcellsandhavearoleinthe
inactivationanddestructionofforeignantigenmoleculesthatmayinvadeourtissues.Theuniqueshape
oftheproteinantibodymeansthattheactionofeachantibodyisspecificforaparticularantigen;one
particularantibodycanonlybindwithandinactivateoneparticularantigen.

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16

SACE 2 BIOLOGY Essentials WORKBOOK

Communication
Certainmolecules,includingsomehormones,bringabouttheirspecificactionbybindingtoother
molecules.Whenthehormoneinsulinbindstoreceptorproteinsinthecellmembrane,thecellmembrane
increaseitspermeabilitytoglucoseandthecelltakesupmoreglucosetostoreasglycogen.Thediagram
belowrepresentsthebindingofahormonetoasurfacereceptor.

Hormone messenger molecule

Receptor molecule embedded
into the bi-lipid layer of
cell membrane
Lipid bi-layer

Binding leads to activation

Transport
Haemoglobinisaproteinmoleculefoundinsidehumanredbloodcells.Ithasaspecificroleinthe
transportofoxygenmoleculestothetissuesofthebody.Theparticularshapeofthemoleculemakesit
idealforthereversiblebindingthatoccurswithoxygen.
The control of metabolic reactions.
Allreactionsinsidecellsneedspecificenzymemoleculestoensurethattheyproceed.Enzymesare
proteinmoleculeswithaspecificshapethatiscriticalforthebindingofthereactantorsubstrate
molecules.Thethreedimensionalshapeoftheproteingivesrisetoanactivesiteontheenzymewherean
inducedfitbindingoccurs.

1. Writeaconcisestatementtoexplaineachofthefollowingterms:

antibody

antigen

complementarystrand..

denature

enzyme

haemoglobin

hormone

insulin

polypeptide

protein

surfacereceptor

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