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Molecular Basis of Inheritance MCQ with Answers:
1. What is the molecular basis of inheritance in biology?
a) The transfer of genetic information between generations
b) The role of DNA and RNA in transmitting genetic information
c) The interaction between genes and the environment
d) The process of protein synthesis
Answer: b) The role of DNA and RNA in transmitting genetic information
2. Who discovered the molecular basis of inheritance?
a) Gregor Mendel
b) Charles Darwin
c) James Watson and Francis Crick
d) Frederick Griffith
Answer: c) James Watson and Francis Crick
3. Histones are:
a) Lipids
b) Carbohydrates
c) Proteins
d) Nucleic acids
Answer: c) Proteins
4. Which of the following is the start codon? AUG stands for:
a) Alanine
b) Uracil-Guanine
c) Methionine
d) Asparagine
Answer: c) Methionine
5. Where are the untranslated regions (UTRs) present?
a) Only in prokaryotic mRNA
b) Only in eukaryotic mRNA
c) In both prokaryotic and eukaryotic mRNA
d) In tRNA molecules
Answer: c) In both prokaryotic and eukaryotic mRNA
Read: MCQ on Plant growth
6. What is the process of activation of amino acids in the presence of ATP and its linkage to their cognate tRNA known as?
a) Translation
b) Transcription
c) Replication
d) tRNA modification
Answer: a) Translation
7. Which of the following cell organelles is responsible for the synthesis of proteins?
a) Mitochondria
b) Golgi apparatus
c) Endoplasmic reticulum
d) Lysosomes
Answer: c) Endoplasmic reticulum
8. Hershey and Chase’s experiment was based on the principle:
a) DNA is the genetic material
b) RNA is the genetic material
c) Proteins are the genetic material
d) Lipids are the genetic material
Answer: a) DNA is the genetic material
9. The nucleotides in a DNA strand are linked together by:
a) Glycosidic bonds
b) Peptide bonds
c) Phosphodiester bonds
d) Hydrogen bonds
Answer: c) Phosphodiester bonds
10. Who introduced the Transforming Principle?
a) Oswald Avery
b) Frederick Griffith
c) Alfred Hershey
d) Rosalind Franklin
Answer: b) Frederick Griffith
11. Who discovered the transforming principle?
a) Oswald Avery
b) Frederick Griffith
c) Alfred Hershey
d) James Watson and Francis Crick
Answer: b) Frederick Griffith
12. What is Griffith's transforming principle?
a) DNA
b) RNA
c) Proteins
d) Lipids
Answer: a) DNA
13. Who discovered DNA?
a) Oswald Avery
b) Frederick Griffith
c) James Watson and Francis Crick
d) Friedrich Miescher
Answer: d) Friedrich Miescher
14. What is DNA made up of?
a) Amino acids
b) Nucleotides
c) Fatty acids
d) Monosaccharides
Answer: b) Nucleotides
15. What is the shape of DNA?
a) Single-stranded helix
b) Circular
c) Double-stranded helix
d) Linear
Answer: c) Double-stranded helix
16. Who discovered RNA?
a) James Watson and Francis Crick
b) Friedrich Miescher
c) Rosalind Franklin
d) Walter Gilbert
Answer: b) Friedrich Miescher
17. What is the main function of RNA?
a) Storage of genetic information
b) Transmission of genetic information
c) Catalyzing biochemical reactions
d) Protein synthesis
Answer: d) Protein synthesis
18. Is RNA double-stranded in?
a) All organisms
b) Prokaryotes
c) Eukaryotes
d) None of the above
Answer: d) None of the above
19. Which of the following is RNA made up of?
a) Deoxyribonucleotides
b) Ribonucleotides
c) Amino acids
d) Lipids
Answer: b) Ribonucleotides
20. What is central dogma?
a) The process of DNA replication
b) The process of transcription
c) The process of translation
d) The flow of genetic information from DNA to RNA to protein
Answer: d) The flow of genetic information from DNA to RNA to protein
21. What is the central dogma best represented by?
a) DNA → RNA → Protein
b) RNA → DNA → Protein
c) Protein → DNA → RNA
d) Protein → RNA → DNA
Answer: a) DNA → RNA → Protein
22. What is transcription?
a) The process of DNA replication
b) The process of RNA synthesis from a DNA template
c) The process of protein synthesis
d) The process of RNA degradation
Answer: b) The process of RNA synthesis from a DNA template
23. What can transcription be described as ______________?
a) DNA replication
b) RNA synthesis
c) Protein synthesis
d) DNA repair
Answer: b) RNA synthesis
Molecular Basis of Inheritance Class 12 MCQ (Explanation)
1. What is the molecular basis of inheritance in biology?
Answer: b) The role of DNA and RNA in transmitting genetic information
Explanation: The molecular basis of inheritance refers to the mechanisms by which genetic information is passed from one generation to the next. This primarily involves DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid), which carry genetic information and play key roles in processes like replication, transcription, and translation.
2. Who discovered the molecular basis of inheritance?
Answer: c) James Watson and Francis Crick
Explanation: James Watson and Francis Crick are credited with discovering the molecular structure of DNA in 1953. Their proposed model, known as the double helix, elucidated how DNA carries and transmits genetic information.
3. Histones are:
Answer: c) Proteins
Explanation: Histones are proteins that associate with DNA in the cell nucleus to form chromatin. They play a crucial role in DNA packaging and gene regulation by helping to compact DNA into a more condensed structure.
4. Which of the following is the start codon? AUG stands for:
Answer: c) Methionine
Explanation: AUG is the start codon in mRNA (messenger RNA) sequences, and it codes for the amino acid methionine. It also serves as the initiation signal for protein synthesis during translation.
5. Where are the untranslated regions (UTRs) present?
Answer: c) In both prokaryotic and eukaryotic mRNA
Explanation: Untranslated regions (UTRs) are segments of mRNA sequences that are not translated into protein. They are present at both the 5' (upstream) and 3' (downstream) ends of mRNA molecules in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms.
6. What is the process of activation of amino acids in the presence of ATP and its linkage to their cognate tRNA known as?
Answer: a) Translation
Explanation: The process described is called "aminoacylation" or "charging" of tRNA (transfer RNA). It occurs in the cytoplasm and involves the attachment of amino acids to their corresponding tRNA molecules by aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase enzymes, facilitated by ATP hydrolysis.
7. Which of the following cell organelles is responsible for the synthesis of proteins?
Answer: c) Endoplasmic reticulum
Explanation: Protein synthesis primarily occurs on ribosomes, which can be free in the cytoplasm or bound to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The ER-bound ribosomes synthesize proteins that are destined for secretion, membrane insertion, or lysosomal targeting.
8. Hershey and Chase’s experiment was based on the principle:
Answer: a) DNA is the genetic material
Explanation: Hershey and Chase's famous experiment, conducted in 1952, provided strong evidence that DNA, rather than proteins, is the genetic material. They used bacteriophages to demonstrate that DNA, not protein, enters bacterial cells and directs viral replication.
9. The nucleotides in a DNA strand are linked together by:
Answer: c) Phosphodiester bonds
Explanation: Adjacent nucleotides in a DNA strand are linked together by phosphodiester bonds, which form between the 3' hydroxyl group of one nucleotide's sugar and the 5' phosphate group of the next nucleotide's sugar. This linkage creates the sugar-phosphate backbone of the DNA strand.
10. Who introduced the Transforming Principle?
Answer: b) Frederick Griffith
Explanation: Frederick Griffith, demonstrated in 1928 that the "Transforming Principle" responsible for genetic transformation in bacteria was DNA. Their work provided crucial evidence that DNA carries genetic information.
11. Who discovered the transforming principle?
Answer: b) Frederick Griffith
Explanation: Frederick Griffith, a British bacteriologist, discovered the transforming principle in 1928 during his experiments with bacteria, specifically Streptococcus pneumoniae. He observed that genetic material could be transferred between bacterial cells, leading to a change in their phenotype.
12. What is Griffith's transforming principle?
Answer: a) DNA
Explanation: Griffith's transforming principle refers to the genetic material responsible for transferring traits between bacterial cells. Later experiments by Avery, MacLeod, and McCarty identified this material as DNA, which carries genetic information.
13. Who discovered DNA?
Answer: d) Friedrich Miescher
Explanation: Friedrich Miescher, a Swiss biochemist, discovered DNA in 1869. He isolated a substance from white blood cells, which he called "nuclein," later recognized as DNA. However, the structure and function of DNA were not fully understood until the mid-20th century.
14. What is DNA made up of?
Answer: b) Nucleotides
Explanation: DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is composed of nucleotides, which consist of a sugar molecule (deoxyribose), a phosphate group, and one of four nitrogenous bases: adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), or guanine (G).
15. What is the shape of DNA?
Answer: c) Double-stranded helix
Explanation: DNA has a double-stranded helical structure, resembling a twisted ladder or spiral staircase. The two strands are antiparallel, with complementary base pairing between adenine (A) and thymine (T), and between cytosine (C) and guanine (G).
16. Who discovered RNA?
Answer: b) Friedrich Miescher
Explanation: Friedrich Miescher's research in the late 19th century led to the isolation of nucleic acids, including RNA (ribonucleic acid), along with DNA. However, RNA's significance and diverse functions were elucidated over subsequent decades by various scientists.
17. What is the main function of RNA?
Answer: d) Protein synthesis
Explanation: The primary function of RNA is to serve as a messenger between DNA and protein synthesis machinery during protein synthesis (translation). RNA molecules carry genetic information from the DNA in the nucleus to the ribosomes in the cytoplasm, where proteins are synthesized.
18. Is RNA double-stranded in?
Answer: d) None of the above
Explanation: RNA molecules can be single-stranded (ssRNA) or form secondary structures through intramolecular base pairing, but they are not typically double-stranded like DNA.
19. Which of the following is RNA made up of?
Answer: b) Ribonucleotides
Explanation: RNA is composed of ribonucleotides, which consist of a ribose sugar, a phosphate group, and one of four nitrogenous bases: adenine (A), uracil (U), cytosine (C), or guanine (G).
20. What is central dogma?
Answer: d) The flow of genetic information from DNA to RNA to protein
Explanation: The central dogma of molecular biology describes the flow of genetic information within a biological system, where DNA is transcribed into RNA, and RNA is translated into proteins. This concept was first proposed by Francis Crick in 1958.
22. What is transcription?
Answer: b) The process of RNA synthesis from a DNA template
Explanation: Transcription is the biological process by which a segment of DNA is copied into RNA by the enzyme RNA polymerase. This RNA molecule, known as messenger RNA (mRNA), carries the genetic information from the DNA to the ribosomes for protein synthesis.
23. What can transcription be described as ______________?
Answer: b) RNA synthesis
Explanation: Transcription can be described as RNA synthesis because it involves the synthesis of RNA molecules (such as mRNA, tRNA, or rRNA) using a DNA template. RNA polymerase catalyzes the formation of phosphodiester bonds between ribonucleotides, resulting in the synthesis of RNA.