Unit 1: Unity and Diversity
Topic 1.2: Nucleic Acids Questions
Practice 20 exam-style questions for IB Biology Topic 1.2. Review the question stems below, then unlock the full Question Bank to access markschemes, model answers, and AI grading.
1Identify1 mark
Which feature of a DNA molecule gives it the capacity to store a very large amount of genetic information?
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What does whole genome sequencing of an organism involve?
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In a DNA double helix, which components of the two strands are directly joined to each other by hydrogen bonds?
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Outline the meaning of complementary base pairing in a molecule of DNA.
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In a plant or animal chromosome, what is the role of histone proteins?
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Define the term genome.
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A short single strand of nucleic acid is found to contain the base uracil.
Which type of nucleic acid must this strand be, and why?
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Which molecule acts as the long-term genetic material stored in the cells of an oak tree?
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Which statement correctly describes the genome of an organism?
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Watson and Crick published a model of DNA in 1953.
What overall structural feature did their model first reveal?
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Distinguish between a gene and a genome.
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Which pair of base pairings correctly describes complementary base pairing in a DNA double helix?
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What is the name of the repeating monomer (single building block) from which both DNA and RNA are built?
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A short single strand of DNA has the base sequence T–A–C–G–G–A.
State the base sequence of the complementary strand that pairs with it.
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State the name of the monomer from which a DNA molecule is built.
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What molecules make up the backbone that runs along the outside of each DNA strand?
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A pentose sugar is extracted from a nucleotide and shown to be deoxyribose.
From which nucleic acid did this nucleotide come?
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The diagram shows a single nucleotide.
Which three components does every nucleotide contain?
[Diagram: bio-dna-nucleotide {"type":"DNA"}]
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Unlock Question19Outline2 marks
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Outline the feature of DNA that gives it the capacity to store a very large amount of information.
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Unlock Question20Describe2 marks
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A student examines a labelled diagram of a chromosome from an animal cell and sees DNA coiled around many small protein structures.
Describe the role of these histone proteins in the chromosome.
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