DNA and RNA Review Questions

1. Given the great diversity and complexity of life why did it seem to make sense that proteins were the cell's heridtary material?
2. How did radioactivity solve the protein vs. DNA debate?
3. Compare and contrast DNA polymerase and RNA polymerase.
4. How does RNA polymerase know when to stop transcription?
5. Evolution is described as conservative. If something works it is kept. Use the codon encoding of amino acids to illustrate this point.
6. PCR uses a special DNA polymerase found in a hot springs bacteria.
7. Sometime in the past cheetah in Africa was reduced to a very few individuals (perhaps as few as seven!). This is called a genetic bottleneck. Explain how gel electrophoresis would help determine that this had occurred.