7^th Grade Science Genetics Name: _____________________

1. Which scientist was important in the field of genetics and DNA?

a) Mendel b) Watson c) Crick d) All of these

2. There are ______ (number) base residues in DNA chains.

3. In human cells, DNA makes up the:

a) chromosomes b) cell wall c) Golgi apparatus d) vacuole

4. Genes: a) Are made up of DNA b) Carry traits

c) May have various forms, or alleles d) All of these

5. The correct order of progression in normal cells is:

a) RNA makes proteins, which then make DNA

b) DNA makes RNA, which then makes proteins

c) Proteins make RNA, which then makes DNA

6. DNA is toxic to animal cells so it is stored in the:

a) Vacuoles b) Cell membrane c) Nucleus d) It is not stored, but discarded

7. Fill in the blanks to create a perfectly-matching strand of DNA to the one already there. Use A for Adenine, T for Thymine, G for Guanine, and C for Cytosine.

- G – A – C – G – A – T – T – A -

| | | | | | | |

– C -___-___-___-___-___- A - T –

8. Guanine is always paired with: (a) Adenine (b) Cytosine (c) Thymine

9. Which statement best describes the relationship between dominant and recessive alleles?

a) Recessive alleles are never expressed in the presence of a dominant

b) Dominant alleles are never expressed in the presence of a recessive

c) Recessive alleles are always expressed in the presence of a dominant

10. There are _________ (number) chromosomes in a normal human cell.

11. What fraction of chromosomes comes from the mother of an organism?

a) 100% b) ½ c) ¼ d) none; they all come from the father

12. For every gene for a trait, there are _____ (number) copies on separate chromosomes.

13. Describe our genetic activity in class this week:

What is the Human Genome Project?

Begun formally in 1990, the U.S. Human Genome Project was a 13-year effort coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health. The project originally was planned to last 15 years, but rapid technological advances accelerated the completion date to 2003. Project goals were to

Ø identify all the approximately 20,000-25,000 genes in human DNA,

Ø determine the sequences of the 3 billion chemical base pairs that make up human DNA,

Ø store this information in databases,

Ø improve tools for data analysis,

Ø transfer related technologies to the private sector, and

Ø address the ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) that may arise from the project.

To help achieve these goals, researchers also studied the genetic makeup of several nonhuman organisms. These include the common human gut bacterium Escherichia coli, the fruit fly, and the laboratory mouse.

A unique aspect of the U.S. Human Genome Project is that it was the first large scientific undertaking to address potential ELSI implications arising from project data.

Another important feature of the project was the federal government's long-standing dedication to the transfer of technology to the private sector. By licensing technologies to private companies and awarding grants for innovative research, the project catalyzed the multibillion-dollar U.S. biotechnology industry and fostered the development of new medical applications.

Sequence and analysis of the human genome working draft was published in February 2001 and April 2003 issues of Nature and Science.

14. What is the name of this project?

15. Which organizations ran this project?

16. By how many years did it finish earlier than projected? __________

17. How many genes are in the human body? ____________________________

18. What other than human DNA was sequenced?

19. How might the information gained be used in the future?

20. Give five symptoms of Angelman’s Syndrome:

(back to last week’s reading activity)