Unit 4: Continuity and Change
Topic 4.2: Protein Synthesis Questions
Practice 20 exam-style questions for IB Biology Topic 4.2. Review the question stems below, then unlock the full Question Bank to access markschemes, model answers, and AI grading.
1Identify1 mark
What does it mean to say that the genetic code is universal?
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How many bases of an mRNA molecule are read together as a single codon?
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What is the role of a tRNA molecule in translation?
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Which type of bond joins neighbouring amino acids together in a polypeptide?
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Which event takes place during translation?
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State the name of the enzyme that carries out transcription.
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During transcription, which base is added to the mRNA opposite an adenine (A) on the DNA template strand?
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In which part of a eukaryotic cell does transcription take place?
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State what is meant by a codon.
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Which enzyme carries out transcription, and what does it produce?
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Where in the cell does translation take place?
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State the name of the structure that reads the mRNA codons and joins the amino acids together during translation.
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A base substitution changes one mRNA codon to a different codon that codes for the SAME amino acid.
What is this kind of mutation called, and which property of the genetic code makes it possible?
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Describe the importance of mRNA in the synthesis of a polypeptide.
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A codon table shows UCU = serine, UAU = tyrosine and CAU = histidine.
Which order of amino acids does the mRNA sequence UCU–UAU–CAU code for?
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Which statement correctly describes the role of mRNA in protein synthesis?
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In a codon table, four sets of codons are shown.
Which set demonstrates the degeneracy of the genetic code?
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A polypeptide is 60 amino acids long.
What is the minimum number of mRNA bases needed to code for it?
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A protein is made of a single polypeptide that is 120 amino acids long.
Calculate the minimum number of mRNA bases needed to code for this polypeptide, and explain how you worked it out.
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A drug (rifampicin) inhibits transcription by blocking RNA polymerase.
What is the immediate effect on the cell?
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