BIOD 102 PORTAGE LEARNING EXAM
QUESTION AND ANSWERS LATEST
UPDATED 2026-2027
What are the 2 phases of the cell cycle? - ANSWERSInterphase and Mitotic phase
What does interphase consist of? - ANSWERSG1, S, G2
G1 and G2 - ANSWERSthe gap phases that are characterized by cellular growth such
as protein and organelle production
S phase - ANSWERSthe time during which chromosomes are duplicated and essential
DNA information is replicated to be passed to daughter cells during mitosis
Mitosis - ANSWERSthe division of genetic material; can be broken down into 5
subphrases (prophase, pro metaphase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase)
Cytokinesis - ANSWERSthe process of dividing the cell's cytoplasm
Origin of Replication - ANSWERSlocated along the strands of DNA are short
nucleotides; the nucleotide sequence at each origin of replication encodes for a start
signal at which the process of replication will be initiated by proteins that recognize and
bind to those sequences
Helicase - ANSWERSan enzyme that has the role of untwisting and separating the helix
parent strands at the replication fork
Replication fork - ANSWERSY-shaped area where the DNA strands are beginning to
untwist
replication bubble - ANSWERSas the helices begins to separate the double strands, a
visible replication bubble forms that will expand as replication continues along the
strand
single stranded binding proteins - ANSWERSact as a wedge to keep the parent strands
separated and stabilized
topoisomerase - ANSWERSin the front of the fork and its function is to break the
hydrogen bonds and the nucleotide bases and it plays a role in rejoining the DNA
strands when replication is complete; it is able a stabilizing enzyme that reduces the
strain in the strands that occur during replication
, RNA primers - ANSWERScomplementary to the parental DNA strand
RNA - ANSWERSsingle-stranded and contains sugar ribose and it does NOT have a
thymine but a uracil
primase - ANSWERSenzyme that facilitates the synthesis of an RNA primer by using
the unwound DNA strand as a template; it binds to the 3' end of the parent strand and
begins adding complementary RNA nucleotides as it moves toward the 5' end of the
parent strand
DNA polymerase - ANSWERSenzymes that add nucleotides to the 3' end of the existing
chain via dehydration reactions
triphosphate tail - ANSWERSthree phosphate group; has a negative charge around it
pyrophosphate - ANSWERSwill undergo hydrolysis reaction which splits the molecule
into two inorganic phosphates and energy is released in the process
leading strand - ANSWERSif nucleotides can only be added to the 3' end of a parental
strand this means that the (new) complementary RNA primer strand is being elongated
in the 5' to 3' direction. ONE RNA is required for leading strand elongation and
nucleotides are added continuously as the replication fork progresses along the length
of the template strand.
lagging strand - ANSWERSthe other template is oriented in a 3' to 5' direction. This
requires the DNA polymerase to work backward, AWAY from the replication fork. The
daughter strand that is synthesized in this direction is called the LAGGING STRAND.
The lagging strand must be replicated in a series of fragments called Okazaki fragments
rather than in one continuous strand
DNA ligase - ANSWERSan enzyme that facilitates the joining the Okazaki fragments
Mismatch repair - ANSWERSoccurs when other proteins identify inappropriately
mismatched nucleotides and replace them with the correct nucleotide
Nucleotide excision repair - ANSWERSDNA polymerases and mismatch repair proteins
are helpful for identifying and remediating single-nucleotide errors but sometimes entire
stretches of the newly synthesized strand may be erroneous; when this happens the cell
will deploy the nucleotide excision repair mechanism
Nucleases - ANSWERSenzymes that cut DNA; cleave out a short stretch of DNA on the
new strand and the template strand willl again be used to determine the correct
complementary pairs to fill in the gap
telomers - ANSWERSspecialized nucleotide sequences that serve as a protective tail
on the ends of strands; can be thought of as placeholders, short, repeating sequences
QUESTION AND ANSWERS LATEST
UPDATED 2026-2027
What are the 2 phases of the cell cycle? - ANSWERSInterphase and Mitotic phase
What does interphase consist of? - ANSWERSG1, S, G2
G1 and G2 - ANSWERSthe gap phases that are characterized by cellular growth such
as protein and organelle production
S phase - ANSWERSthe time during which chromosomes are duplicated and essential
DNA information is replicated to be passed to daughter cells during mitosis
Mitosis - ANSWERSthe division of genetic material; can be broken down into 5
subphrases (prophase, pro metaphase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase)
Cytokinesis - ANSWERSthe process of dividing the cell's cytoplasm
Origin of Replication - ANSWERSlocated along the strands of DNA are short
nucleotides; the nucleotide sequence at each origin of replication encodes for a start
signal at which the process of replication will be initiated by proteins that recognize and
bind to those sequences
Helicase - ANSWERSan enzyme that has the role of untwisting and separating the helix
parent strands at the replication fork
Replication fork - ANSWERSY-shaped area where the DNA strands are beginning to
untwist
replication bubble - ANSWERSas the helices begins to separate the double strands, a
visible replication bubble forms that will expand as replication continues along the
strand
single stranded binding proteins - ANSWERSact as a wedge to keep the parent strands
separated and stabilized
topoisomerase - ANSWERSin the front of the fork and its function is to break the
hydrogen bonds and the nucleotide bases and it plays a role in rejoining the DNA
strands when replication is complete; it is able a stabilizing enzyme that reduces the
strain in the strands that occur during replication
, RNA primers - ANSWERScomplementary to the parental DNA strand
RNA - ANSWERSsingle-stranded and contains sugar ribose and it does NOT have a
thymine but a uracil
primase - ANSWERSenzyme that facilitates the synthesis of an RNA primer by using
the unwound DNA strand as a template; it binds to the 3' end of the parent strand and
begins adding complementary RNA nucleotides as it moves toward the 5' end of the
parent strand
DNA polymerase - ANSWERSenzymes that add nucleotides to the 3' end of the existing
chain via dehydration reactions
triphosphate tail - ANSWERSthree phosphate group; has a negative charge around it
pyrophosphate - ANSWERSwill undergo hydrolysis reaction which splits the molecule
into two inorganic phosphates and energy is released in the process
leading strand - ANSWERSif nucleotides can only be added to the 3' end of a parental
strand this means that the (new) complementary RNA primer strand is being elongated
in the 5' to 3' direction. ONE RNA is required for leading strand elongation and
nucleotides are added continuously as the replication fork progresses along the length
of the template strand.
lagging strand - ANSWERSthe other template is oriented in a 3' to 5' direction. This
requires the DNA polymerase to work backward, AWAY from the replication fork. The
daughter strand that is synthesized in this direction is called the LAGGING STRAND.
The lagging strand must be replicated in a series of fragments called Okazaki fragments
rather than in one continuous strand
DNA ligase - ANSWERSan enzyme that facilitates the joining the Okazaki fragments
Mismatch repair - ANSWERSoccurs when other proteins identify inappropriately
mismatched nucleotides and replace them with the correct nucleotide
Nucleotide excision repair - ANSWERSDNA polymerases and mismatch repair proteins
are helpful for identifying and remediating single-nucleotide errors but sometimes entire
stretches of the newly synthesized strand may be erroneous; when this happens the cell
will deploy the nucleotide excision repair mechanism
Nucleases - ANSWERSenzymes that cut DNA; cleave out a short stretch of DNA on the
new strand and the template strand willl again be used to determine the correct
complementary pairs to fill in the gap
telomers - ANSWERSspecialized nucleotide sequences that serve as a protective tail
on the ends of strands; can be thought of as placeholders, short, repeating sequences
