BIOTECHNOLOGY

LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEETS

DNA HISTORY, STRUCTURE AND CHEMISTRY

JOAN C. ZINAMPAN
TUGUEGARAO CITY SCIENCE HIGH SCHOOL

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 BIOTECHNOLOGY
Name of Learner: Ayesa Mielle D. Maneclang Grade Level: 8
Section: Pythagoras Date: 02/15/22

LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET

Activity 1. Trace and You Will Know

Directions: Read through the work of each scientist A-F. Now, use this information to put the
scientists in date order of when they made their discovery. The first one has been done for you

A My name is
B
Erwin Chargaff , I
have analyzed that the
DNA of different
species, contained
equal amounts of
adenine (A) and
thymine (T) and equal
We are Avery, MacLeod and McCarty. amounts of cytosine
Our work proved that DNA carries the (C)and guanine (G).
information for inheritance but we don't
know how.

C My name is Johannes We are James Watson and

D
Friedrich Miescher. I Francis Crick. We used x-
E have discovered
We are anRosalind ray crystallography images
acid inside the nucleus
Franklin and of DNA to deduce it's
of cells which I have
Maurice Wilkins. structure. It is a 'double
called ‘nuclein’.
We took pictures helix' and looks like a
of the structure twisted ladder with the
of DNA using X- rungs being bases A, C, G
ray
crystallography.
F I'm Phoebus Levene. I have
renamed nuclein as nucleic
acids. One type is called
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
which contains five bases - A,
C, G and T.

ANSWERS:

C F A B E D

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 Activity 2. A DNA Structure
(A DNA Mastery Unit)

Directions: Using a DNA model, answer the questions that follow.

A. Label the diagram below with the following choices:
Adenine Guanine Sugar, Phosphate Backbone Base pair
cytosine Thymine Nitrogenous base

Sugar, Phosphate Backbone

Base pair

Adenine

Nitrogenous Base

Thymine

Guanine

Cytosine

Directions: Using the DNA Model, answer the questions below

B.
1. What do the letters DNA stand for?
Deoxyribonucleic Acid

2. What two locations is DNA found in a cell?

Most DNA is found in the cell nucleus, but mitochondria also have small amounts of
DNA.

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3. What shape does a DNA molecule have?
Double helix
4. What makes up the backbone of the DNA structure?
Sugar is the one that forms the backbone of the DNA molecule.
5. What are the four bases that make up a DNA molecule?
DNA contains 4 bases: adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T) (T).
6. What three structures make up a nucleotide?
A nucleotide is made up of a sugar molecule (deoxyribose in DNA or either ribose in
RNA) that is linked to a phosphate group and a nitrogen-containing base.
7. Why is the order of the bases important?
The DNA base sequence carries information required by a cell to assemble RNA
molecules and the order of these bases determines the information available for the
construction and maintenance of an organism.
8. Explain the base pair rules.
The rules of base pairing explain the phenomenon that whatever the amount of
adenine (A) is in an organism's DNA, the amount of thymine (T) is the same (known as
Chargaff's rule). Similarly, whatever the amount of guanine (G) is present, the amount
of cytosine (C) is the same.
9. If one strand of DNA has a sequence of 5’ ATG CAG TCT GAT CAT 3’, what would its
complementary strand be?
TAC, GTC, AGA, CTA, GTA
10. If a double stranded molecule of DNA was found to be 30% Adenine, what would be the
percent composition of the other three bases? (hint: use base pair rules, total is 100%)
Adenine is 30%, Thymine is 30%, Guanine=20%, and Cytosine=20%.

Activity 3. Fact Or Bluff

Directions: Table 1 contains data that Erwin Chargaff published about the composition of
DNA.

Table 1. Proportions of nitrogenous bases in the DNA of different organisms. Data

from Chargaff and Davidson (1955).

Organism Tissue %Adenine % Guanine %Cytosine %Thymine

Yeast 31.3 18.7 17.1 32.9
Sea Urchin Sperm 32.8 17.7 18.4 32.1
Rat Bone 28.6 21.4 21.5 28.4
Marrow
Human Thymus 30.9 19.9 19.8 29.4
Human Sperm 30.3 19.5 19.9 30.3

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 Based on the data in Table 1, mark the following as FACT if the statement is correct
or BLUFF if the statement is not correct. Justify each in one or two sentences.
Fact 1. In each organism, there is approximately one adenine for every thymine.

(Because the proportions of adenine and thymine within each organism are
similar and they have about 1:1 ratio.)
BLUFF 2. In each organism, the proportions of adenine plus thymine equal those of
cytosine and guanine.

(In all of these organisms, adenosine + thymine > cytosine + guanine. The sea
urchin for example is: adenine (32.8) + thymine (32.1) = 64.9% and cytosine (18.4) +
guanine (17.7) = 36.1 %.)
BLUFF 3. In each organism, there is approximately one guanine for every thymine.

(Because the proportions of G and T are not similar in any of the organisms, these
bases do not have a 1:1 relationship ratio.)
FACT 4. In each organism, there is approximately one guanine for every cytosine.

(Because the proportions of guanine and cytosine within each organism are
similar and these bases have about 1:1 ratio.)
FACT 5. The proportions of nitrogenous bases in the DNA of two different human
tissues (thymus an sperm) are about the same.

(The same DNA sequence is shared by all cells and tissues in a given organism (in
this case, a human).

REFLECTION:
1. I have learned that DNA is a polymer composed of nucleotide monomers, each of which
contains a phosphate, a deoxyribose sugar, and one of four nitrogenous bases: adenine
(A), thymine (T), guanine (G), or cytosine (C).

2. I enjoyed most on discovering the history of DNA and answering the “Trace and you
will know” activity.
3. I want to learn more on structures and compositions of DNA.

REFERENCES:
A. Books

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Joaquin, C and Lagunsad C.G, 2003 Functional Biology: Modular Approach. Quezon City
Vibal Publishing House

Manosa, S. and Talaue, F.T.. 2007: Breaking Through Biology. C and E Publishing Inc.

B. Websites
“The History of DNA”. Accessed February 12, 2021.
https://www.lunadna.com/blog/history-of-dna/

“Discovery of DNA Structure and Function: Watson and Crick. Accessed February 12,
2021. https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/discovery-of-dna-structure-and-
function-watson-397/

“Chargaff’s Base Pairing Rules” Accessed February 12, 2021.

https://www.ck12.org/book/ck-12-biology-advanced-concepts/section/8.3/

“The discovery of DNA’s Structure “ .Accessed February 11, 2021

Microsoft Word - Worksheet DNA.docx (smart-learning.co.uk)

Prepared by:

JOAN C. ZINAMPAN
Tuguegarao City Science High School

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